Slowly Realizing
by New Decade
Summary: Jake returns to Miami in hopes of getting Calleigh back, but Eric is also back on the team. Where is this heading? Jake/Calleigh/Eric love triangle.
1. Returning With Hope

This is my first multi-chapter fanfic. This is a story that takes place in season 9, after Eric has returned. What if Jake came back to Miami in hopes of getting Calleigh back? Will he succeed?

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing

* * *

Chapter One

Returning With Hope 

"Please fasten your seat belts as we prepare to land, thank you," the voice of the pilot said over the speaker. Jake did so as he looked out the window. He saw the city of Miami below him; he had missed this city. He missed how the skyscrapers and other buildings seemed to sit on the crystal clear water.

He had barely seen the ocean since he had to leave Miami, ATF seemed to like the idea of relocating him every other month, so it seemed, but never once was he next to an ocean. He had been seen Mt. Rushmore, the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains, but he had yet to see an ocean in his year or so of hiding.

Now, he was getting his chance to return to Miami. ATF had finally given him the all clear to come out of hiding and the ability to return to Miami. The second he got that call he bought a plane ticket, packed his bags and said goodbye to Wyoming, where he had been placed at the time. The state was beautiful, of course, but he was starting to get cabin fever from being trapped inside, alone, the entire time.

Jake was already assigned to return to be a homicide detective at MDPD on Monday of next week; hopefully that would give him enough time to find an apartment to rent with the little money that he had. For now, he was going to have to stay in a hotel until he could find a decent place.

However, the one thing that made him truly happy about being able to return wasn't the job, the water, or even the idea of being to step out of his front door without the possibility of being shot. The best thing about being able to come to Florida was her.

The woman who he had known since college, the woman who probably had better aim than half the men in law enforcement and the woman he had been stupid enough to lose, Calleigh Duquesne.

They had zero contact in the last year, that was part of being incognito, no contact with the outside world. But he had heard things. Jake would open his laptop and read newspaper articles about MDPD or some other kind of public records to see if she ever came up. One night in late May, he stumbled across a rather disturbing article. He opened it and read the whole thing.

_CSI Shoots Colleague_

_Last week, during a shootout, in which MDPD was involved, CSI Calleigh Duquesne was said to shoot her colleague and boyfriend, CSI Eric Delko, as he fled the crime scene as the shooting was taking place. Witnesses say that Delko had been driving his biological father, Alexander Sharova, whom he had only just learned about a few months back, away from the crime scene when Duquesne shot at the car._

_Delko was able to drive away from the scene, however, the car he was suspected to be driving was later found crashed in the Everglades. Sharova, a known member of the Russian Mob, was found at the scene and Delko was nowhere in sight. Sharova was said to be covered in Delko's blood and was arrested at the scene, for reasons detectives didn't comment._

_Delko was later found at the edge of the Everglades in critical condition. He was rushed to Dade Memorial later the same day. Doctors were unavailable to comment on how much damage Duquesne's bullet had caused Delko, who had already had had history of brain trauma in the past. They did however, inform us that he had miraculously survived with minimum brain damage._

_Neither Delko nor Duquesne chose to comment on the events. However, we have gathered from a reliable source that both officers' jobs are on the line._

Jake wondered who wrote this article, he scrolled down to discover Erica Sikes wrote it. He had heard stories about this former news anchor, guess she switched careers. He didn't want to believe this story, for the reason of not wanting Calleigh to live with that, but after reading three similar articles he couldn't deny that Calleigh had shot at Delko and none of the people at MDPD commented if Calleigh's bullet _had _caused any damage. Jake soon learned later that both Calleigh and Delko got to keep their jobs, however, Delko resigned a day after returning. Jake hadn't heard anything since.

Jake knew he should have felt bad for Calleigh, but a part of him felt overjoyed. He knew that after he was gone Delko and Calleigh would probably start seeing each other. Jake always suspected she had a special place in her hear for Delko and it was obvious how he felt towards Calleigh. Reading the article had only confirmed his suspicion. But Jake did gather something else from that article; she and Delko had to be over. What else was supposed to happen after your girlfriend shoots at you and have possibly been the cause for your hospital stay? And then after learning that Delko left CSI…that pretty much confirmed his suspicion.

And with the call telling him he was safe again, the timing seemed perfect. He wouldn't be taking off anymore, Delko was out of the picture and Jake was coming back.

The plane began to descend toward the ground until it landed on the airstrip. The plane gradually began to slow. After waiting a few more moments, the pilot came over the intercom, again.

"Thank you all for flying, have a pleasant time in Miami," he said.

Jake unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up, he opened the overhead compartment and pulled down his duffel bag. He didn't bring all of his belongings to Miami, the rest would be sent to him when he found his own place. Jake flung his duffel bag over his shoulder as he walked out of the plane onto the terminal; he didn't attempt to push pass the people, knowing that they'd just shove him back and he'd end up at the back of the mob.

Once in the airport, Jake saw all the people rushing to meet their loved ones, all of them smiling at one another. No one was going to be meeting Jake here today; no one who would probably be halfway interested in seeing him knew he was coming. He just walked passed all the kissing couples and elderly people embracing their children and grandkids.

He collected his only suitcase from the conveyer belt and went to rent a car.

About an hour later, Jake pulled up to the front of the hotel, which was a good five miles away from MDPD. He climbed out of the Audi he had rented, grabbed his bags and walked into the hotel.

Jake wasn't sure which had been more packed, the airport or this hotel lobby. Tons of people were waiting to be checked in, most of them had tourists written all over them. Jake had a feeling this was going to be a long wait as he stood in line, he figured he may as well be doing something to take the first step in repairing his relationship with Calleigh. Jake was feeling confident, almost to the extent of being cocky, that with Delko no longer a part of Calleigh's life, that he had a pretty good chance of getting her back. All he had to do was prove that he still cared for her and had no intention of leaving again…right?

The line moved forward a little.

Jake rethought his strategy. Was it really that simple?

No, of course it wasn't, Jake thought with a sigh. Calleigh was a very complicated woman, for all he knew; she could have said screw all relationships after the incident with Delko. Maybe she changed in the last year or so. Jake's confidence had defiantly dropped with these thoughts.

But pondering the what ifs wasn't going to make anything better, so Jake pulled out his cell phone and dialed her cell phone, hoping he'd catch her on her lunch break. However, the phone didn't ring. Instead, her voice came on the line straight away.

"You've reached Calleigh Dusqene, sorry I missed you. Leave a message and I'll call you back," her voicemail said.

That was the first time Jake had heard her voice in God knows how long, he never realized how much he missed the Southern accent that fit Calleigh so well. He hadn't exactly planned exactly what he was going to say but the beep came at the other end and he knew he had to say something.

"Um…hi, Calleigh, it's me…Jake," he stammered, searching for the words as the line moved forward. "Um…I'm back in Miami, so…call me back when you get this it'd be great to hear from you…I guess I'll see you around…bye," he concluded, hanging up the phone, feeling like an utter moron.

Jake slid his phone into the pocket of his jeans, hoping Calleigh would get the message soon. The anxiety was killing him. The line moved forward.

"Fancy running into you here," said a female voice from behind him. He turned to see a young woman, with hazel eyes, looking up at him. She had a dazzling white smile that you would only see on an Orbit Gum commercial, which contrasted perfectly with her tanned skin and dark hair. Jake looked behind him to make sure she wasn't referring to someone else, because he surely didn't recognize this woman. But she was looking directly at him with the same picture perfect smile.

"I'm sorry, have we met?" Jake asked, trying to be as nice as possible, but in truth he really wasn't interested in talking to anyone…with the exception of one person.

The woman laughed.

"Not officially," she said. "We only just spent the last few hours sitting next to each other on a flight."

"Oh," Jake replied. Jake hardly paid attention to anyone or anything on the flight to know whom he was sitting next to.

"I guess you were pretty absorbed in the movie," she shrugged. She was obviously trying to make small talk as the line grew shorter.

"Yeah," Jake nodded, though the movie had held no interest to him; the main reason he had the headphones in was to avoid conversations with people.

Thankfully, he was now up at the check-in desk and didn't have to continue the conversation.

"Welcome to the Miami Beach Hotel," grinned the manager in a way so fake that Jake wouldn't be surprised if her face hurt. "Do you have a reservation?"

"Yes, for Berkeley, B-E-R-K-E-L-E-Y" he said.

She typed something in on her computer.

"Jake Berkeley?" she asked.

"That's me," Jake said as he handed her his credit card. He was checked in and assigned to room 502.

"Enjoy your stay," the manager said, handing him his room key and his credit card.

"Thanks," Jake said, turning towards the elevator.

"Bye," called the woman who had been standing in line behind him. Jake turned back and nodded at her before continuing for the elevator. Jake hit the button for the elevator, praying it would arrive before the talkative woman had the chance to check in and get on the elevator.

His prayers were answered by a _ding! _as the elevator doors opened. He let the two people exit before loading it himself and hitting the button for the fifth floor, where his room was. The elevator doors closed and it began to levitate up the floors. The annoying elevator music was slightly comforting to him, never a good sign. Either he was seriously jetlagged or he was losing his mind over this whole Calleigh scenario. Did he really stand the chance of her taking him back into her life? Jake wished he had thought this through before, but it was too late to turn back now.

_Ding!_

The elevator doors opened once again and he stepped off as he began to walk down the hall to his room. 499, 500, 501, 502. Got it. He slid his card into the lock until the red button turned green and Jake heard the faint click as the door unlocked. Jake opened the door as he walked into the suite.

It was like most hotels; clean, unlived in and, just like every other hotel in America, boring. Jake walked through the kitchen/den area to the bedroom in the back. It was just like Jake knew it would be; pale walls, white sheets on the lone bed and the feeling you just stepped into quarantine. Shaking off the uneasy feelings he had about stepping into the room, Jake threw his bag and suitcase onto the bed. He unzipped his duffel and the contents were revealed to him. On top of the clothes and other items was a small velvet box. Jake picked it up and opened the lid to see the diamond ring it contained. The ring was nothing too extravagate, he knew that wasn't Calleigh's taste, but it was a ring that would seem to suit her.

Jake bought it before he decided to return to Miami, it may have been a bit rash to buy an engagement ring before even knowing she would take him back. But he thought it would be in his best interest to buy one and there was no time like the present.

He happened to look over at the digital clock on the mahogany bedside table. One-thirty, the red numbers said, there was no way he was going to be able to stay in this shoebox room for the rest of the day. With that, he closed the box and put it slid it in his pocket. He picked up the rental car keys, his wallet and room key before heading for the door.

* * *

I'm sorry if this chapter seems a bit rush and not that interesting, I promise it'll get better. And I'm sorry if the details in the newspaper article are a bit sketchy, I haven't seen "Seeing Red" in a while and I can't remember all the details, I have the worst memory. I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless.

Please review!


	2. Searching

Chapter Two

Searching 

Jake didn't know what possessed him to drive to this place, of all places. Maybe he had let too much sun get to him too quickly, maybe he was more desperate than he realized, or maybe he was just crazy. No matter what the reason, he was now parked in front of the building that was Miami Dade Police Department. Calleigh had to be working and he was all but determined to see her. He looked at the top of the cement stairs, grinding his teeth. That was where he had made a stupid, stupid mistake. A mistake, which he still, remembered clearly.

_He could see her walking out of the lobby through the glass doors as he approached her to tell her what IAB had just informed him of. _

"_Hey, turn it around, Berkeley, we've got a suspect in Grove," she smiled at him, she was speaking of the Doug McClain case they were working._

"_Yeah, I was just coming to find you," he said, hesitantly, not meeting her eyes._

"_Great, let's go," she said about to go down the stairs._

"_I can't work this case," Jake admitted, looking up at her._

_She looked at him, face falling. "Why?"_

"_Because you're on it."_

"_What are you talking about?" she chuckled, getting more confused by the second_.

"_I've just been informed of pending changes in department policy," he clarified._

_Her face turned serious, the kind of serious look she gave suspects on a daily basis._

"_Are you saying that we can't work a crime scene together because we've been seeing each other?" she asked.  
"More like we can't work a crime scene because we may have a falling out and things get ugly and job performance may suffer," only after the words were out of his mouth, Jake realized he sounded just like an IAB agent. _

"_You sound like you're a firm believer," Calleigh commented, arms crossed._

"_No. I just got Rick Stetler breathing down my neck," Jake rolled his eyes.  
__"How does Rick Stetler know anything about us?"_

"_I don't know," he said. Jake couldn't risk losing this job, knowing that, he took a deep breath and continued. "Listen, I think we should just take a step back. Let things cool down a little bit, okay?"_

"_Okay," she said, simply as she continued to the hummer. Her eyes, however, did turn slightly red with tears._

From that point onward, Jake always mentally kicked himself. He was ATF Agent Jake Berkeley, the guy who had been undercover with the Crypt Kings, and he broke up with a woman he had deep feelings for because of a_ job_? He always broke the rules, why was this one any different?

The sad thing was that if he hadn't of done that, she may have considered waiting while he went on ice. But he had just disappeared a few months before for yet another ATF case, just as they were starting to reconnect. Calleigh couldn't live not knowing if he was okay or not and with him constantly pulling a vanishing act; in other words, he had let her down one too many times. That was exactly why he was here to start rebuilding their relationship from the ground.

He knew that no one would be expecting him to come in today, heck, the CSI's probably didn't even know he was coming back to work.

Jake opened the door of the car and walked out into the baking sunlight. He made his way up the stairs and into the lobby, getting himself a visitors pass once inside. He started to get anxious as he approached the elevator, worrying about Calleigh's reaction when she saw him. Would she be happy? Mad? Or would she hold no emotion whatsoever? That was the reaction he was most nervous she'd feel, that would mean she had officially moved on and his chances of her coming back into his life were less than zero.

Jake's self esteem was dropping quicker than rain in a monsoon and, like a monsoon, there was no stopping the storm that was the determination. He wasn't sure if his fear or his determination was more dominant as he loaded the elevator and clicked the button that took him up to CSI. The elevator lifted him up, but he could have sworn his stomach was dropping. This was a new situation for Jake, he wasn't normally so…nervous. He wasn't sure if he wanted this elevator to speed up or slow down, if he just wanted to see her and get the awkward first meet over with or if he wanted to delay it. That was until the elevator reached its destination and it was inevitable. He took a deep breath as the doors opened to the familiar sight of the lab before him. His legs feeling like lead, he stepped out and looked around. Absolutely nothing had changed; the walls were still glass and sunlight still filtered into the various labs. Jake stood there for a moment, taking it all in before looking for any familiar faces. He didn't see Calleigh, Delko, Horatio, Tripp or anybody he recognized. Jake, however, did have a good idea of where to start looking first. The place that everybody knew Calleigh considered her second home, firearms.

Jake remembered the firearms seminars in college, Calleigh was the only female who would attend. She listened intently, making notes at everything. Jake, like most of the other guys, would make fun of her saying a blonde couldn't shoot. Only for her to prove them wrong when the group went to the shooting range. When it was Calleigh's turn to try out the 44 mag, she loaded it, cocked the lever and pulled it into her shoulder, taking a shooter's stance.

"Try not to blow your shoulder out, sweet thang," one of the guys hollered from behind her. They all laughed. Calleigh just looked back at them and rolled her eyes before turning back to the target. She hit the bullseye all four rounds, making the guys eat their words.

"Lets see you do that four times in a row," she smirked handing the rifle to the man who called her "sweet thang."

Jake grinned at the memory and made his way towards firearms, only to run into a new face along the way.

"Can I help you?" asked the man. Jake read the guys ID next to his badge. It read Jesse Cardoza.

"You can actually, do you know a Calleigh Duquesne?" Jake figured this would be quicker than a wild goose chase around PD.

"I do," Jesse said. "Are you a friend of hers or something?"

Jake didn't quite know how to respond.

"Or something," he settled for. "Is she here?"

"No, actually, she took a personal day," he explained.

Jake became a tad worried, Calleigh never took personal days unless something was wrong.

"Well, is she okay?" Jake asked.

Jesse smiled a wide smile before answering.

"Yeah…she's okay," he said as though it were a huge understatement.

Jake stood there a moment, confused.

"Well…um…thanks," Jake nodded as he turned on his heel and headed back toward the elevator.

Jake drove down the familiar street as he sped into the direction of Calleigh's house. It amazed him how he hadn't forgotten the geography of Miami even though he had been gone over a year. Guess some things never leave you.

Jake pulled in front of Calleigh's house. It immediately struck him as odd that her Crossfire wasn't parked in her driveway, but a Porsche. Jake didn't ponder much on it, maybe she just felt like trading in her car. Nothing unusual there.

Jake started to get nervous again as he walked up the path to her house. He stood on the porch a few seconds before mustering the courage to ring the doorbell. He could hear the sound resonate inside and the sound of footsteps coming towards the door; Jake could feel his palms starting to sweat.

The door swung open and a woman stood before him, but not the woman he expected. This woman had curly red hair pulled into a loose ponytail that was hanging in front of her shoulder; she gave Jake a distasteful look.

"Whatever you're selling, I'm not interested," she sighed.

"I'm not selling anything," Jake reassured her, still recovering from shock. "I'm just looking for someone."

"Well, I'm the only one who lives here," the woman gestured inside the house.

"Do you happen to remember the name of the person who lived here before you?" Jake asked.

"Um…I don't remember…I think it was a Kelly or a Katie or something," she woman replied, her brow furrowed as she thought.

"Calleigh?" Jake suggested, already knowing the answer.

"That's it," she pointed at him. "Yeah, Calleigh Duquesne."

"Do you know where she went after moving away from here?" Jake asked, praying there would be a trail of breadcrumbs to follow.

"Nope, sorry," the woman sighed, shaking her head.

"That's alright," Jake said, disappointed as he began to turn away. "You have a good one."

"You too," she called after him.

Jake slid back into the Audi and put his head against the back of the seat, exhaling sharply. He didn't know where to go, but something was defiantly up. Calleigh not at work and her moving out of her house, what the hell was going on? _  
_Jake put the car in gear as he continued down the road, trying to come up with a plan C.

Jake just drove and drove deeper and deeper into Miami; all he was doing was wasting gas and running out of hope of finding her today. Pieces of this just weren't fitting together and he had no idea where to search for the next one. He couldn't hit every house in Miami to ask if Calleigh had moved in there, he couldn't go to every business and ask if they'd seen a blonde with green eyes, so, basically, Jake had hit a roadblock. The only difference was that he was still driving.

It wasn't until Jake realized that fact did notice he was driving on the back road in the Everglades, a place Calleigh certainly wasn't going to be. Jake did a complete U-turn and started driving back the way he had came.

Jake wasn't sure if what happened next was a mere coincidence or a miracle, but it happened. He was driving back through the city when he recognized someone, someone who could point him in the right direction if nothing else. Jake looked at the driver who was switching lanes at the stoplight, into Jake's lane. Jake could see the reflection of the driver in the driver's rearview mirror, there was no denying whom this person was. There was no mistaken the vibrant red hair, solemn look, black suit and, of course, the classic sunglasses. He was looking right at Horatio Caine.

And Horatio Caine was looking right back at him and he didn't take his eyes off Jake until the light turned green, then he looked up and continued forward. And a part of Jake knew, not suspected, _knew_, that Horatio wanted Jake to follow him. So he did.

He followed Horatio through Miami until Horatio pulled up to the Biscaine Courthouse and got out of his car. He wasn't facing Jake as Jake approached him; he just stood with his hands on his hips as he looked at the ground.

"Welcome back, Detective Berkeley," Horatio said.

"Thanks," Jake nodded. "It's good to be back."

There was a moment of silence as Horatio turned slightly towards him.

"Say…um…do you know where I may find Calleigh?" Jake asked, hoping not to sound too desperate.

With this, Horatio slowly removed his sunglasses and turned to Jake, not looking at him.

"She's inside the courthouse," Horatio said.

Was Jake really that close? This was defiantly a positive change in events.

"Well, great…I'll just wait until she's done with whatever business she-."

"Jake," Horatio cut him off as he raised his head to look at Jake. "I think it would be in your best interest to leave."

"C'mon, H-," Jake started to protest.

"Son," Horatio said, gently. "Trust me."

Jake and Horatio stood there for a moment; Horatio giving Jake a serious look until Jake nodded. Horatio nodded back at him one time then pocketed his sunglasses before turning in his heel and walking into the courthouse.

Jake watched him walk in and almost followed Horatio's orders…almost. But the anxiety of being so close to Calleigh and finding out what was going on overwhelmed him. He started for the courthouse door. He walked into the lobby. He could see Horatio walking down the hallway, but Horatio didn't notice him. He followed Horatio, quietly, down the hall. The entire time, Jake went unnoticed.

Horatio turned a corner and walked into a room. Jake, childishly, hid behind one of the pillars to avoid being seen through the glass walls, like the ones they had at MDPD. Jake was able to hear a few voices before he was gathered up the courage to sneak a peak into the room.

At first it was indistinct chatter, but her very clearly heard four words.

"Thanks for coming, Horatio," he heard Calleigh say, Jake's heart skipped a beat as he heard her voice. He could almost hear her smiling.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," he heard Horatio reply in a much happier voice than the one he used outside.

"Are we ready to begin?" asked a male voice in which Jake didn't know.

There was no reply, but the man said, "Okay," so someone must have nodded.

It was with that did Jake look into the room while he was still hidden slightly behind the pillar. But the second he looked in that room, he regretted coming here. Actually, he regretted leaving Wyoming.

Natalia Boa Vista, Ryan Wolfe, Frank Tripp, Alexx Woods and Horatio were all in Sunday best. Jake didn't notice before that Horatio wasn't just wearing one of his original suits, but a tuxedo. They were standing on either side of three people, a judge, Eric Delko and Calleigh. Delko was in a black tux looking down at Calleigh with a big smile on his face, their hands interlocked as they stood in front of the judge. Calleigh was in a long white dress, with a single white carnation tucked in her blonde hair. She had a smile identical to the one Delko had on his face.

Jake couldn't talk himself out of what scene lay before him, no one could. Calleigh was in white, she had moved out of her house and her phone had been turned off. Suddenly, he heard Jesse's voice again.

"_Yeah…she's okay."_

Jake knew what Jesse had been implying now. Of course she was okay, better than okay, she was getting married for God's sake.

Jake wanted nothing more than to just turn and leave this miserable scene, he couldn't watch this, but he couldn't turn away. He just continued watching, torturing himself. The judge began to speak to the small crowd.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join these two souls in holy matrimony," he recited, the words he'd probably said a thousand times, however each time different in it's own special way.

Jake watched the ceremony unfold before his eyes.

Calleigh slid a ring on the ring finger of Delko's left hand as the judge told her to repeat after him.

"I, Calleigh Duquesne," the judge said.

"I, Calleigh Duquesne," Calleigh repeated.

"Take thee, Eric Delko."

"Take thee, Eric Delko," she repeated, cheerful tears starting to brim in her eyes. The sight of the tears made Jake's heart ache.

"To be my lawful wedded husband."

Huge tears began to roll down Calleigh's face. This was the side of Calleigh Jake wasn't familiar with, the sensitive side. Either she never showed this side in front of him or he had been too blind to notice it, but he was certainly seeing it now.

"To be my lawful wedded husband," Calleigh said, her voice cracking as she smiled up at Delko.

Then, it was Delko's turn. He slid the ring onto Calleigh's finger before taking her hands; suddenly the ring Jake had in his pocket felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.

"I, Eric Delko," the judge said.

"I, Eric Delko," Delko repeated, undeniable devotion filling every syllable.

"Take thee, Calleigh Duquesne."

"Take thee, Calleigh Duquesne," Eric said, his eyes boring into Calleigh's.

"To be my lawful wedded wife."

"To be my lawful wedded wife," Eric concluded, smiling, his thumb smoothing over the gold band around her finger.

It seemed everyone in the room was happy this ceremony they were witnessing. Alexx and Natalia had tears in their eyes. Wolfe had his goofy grin on his face. Tripp was nodding happily; Jake supposed that even he knew about the attraction between Delko and Calleigh. Horatio had a small smile on his face, obviously happy with the sight before him.

The judge continued to the part Jake knew would be the most painful for him to witness.

"Do you, Calleigh, take Eric to be your husband? To love and to hold from this day forward? For rich or for poor, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?" he asked.

Jake saw the look in Calleigh's eyes, and it burned him like a red-hot poker. She never looked at him with the look she now gave Delko. She had never once given Jake that look of devotion, of care, of happiness, of…love. Jake knew, looking at her now, that she was deeply in love with Eric Delko and he obviously returned her love. Jake had lost her, and the words where confirmed by two simple words.

"I do," Calleigh choked out through her tears of undeniable joy.

At that moment, Jake could have sworn his heart flung out of his chest and left an empty hole behind. He wanted to get out of this building, he wanted to run and not look back but his legs were cemented to the ground. Meaning he had to continue watching his own personal hell drag out in front of him.

"Do you, Eric, take Calleigh to be your wife? To love and to hold from this day forward? For rich or for poor, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?" the judge asked the final question.

"I do," Delko vowed.

"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife," the judge then concluded with, "You may kiss the bride."

Delko gently took a Calleigh's face between his hands as he leaned down to kiss her, she stretched up on her toes and kissed him back, arms wrapping around him. The audience of friends clapped as they kissed and when it broke, Delko whispered something to Calleigh. Jake read his lips.

"I love you," he had said.

"I love you, too," Calleigh whispered back.

That did it, something inside Jake ruptured. This wasn't happening, it couldn't be. She shot at him, he left CSI, how could they now be _married_? Jake cringed at the thought. But there was no denying it, the words were now out and the vows had been exchanged, and nothing could change that. He had lost his chance. He lost his chance a long time ago, every other thought he had had all been in vain. It was clear who Calleigh was in love with and always had been in love with, and it was that person's name whose surname she now possessed.

With one last glance at the room, Jake turned on his heel and stormed out.

* * *

Horatio was clapping along with the rest of the witnesses as Eric and Calleigh exchanged their first kiss as man and wife. Horatio was smiling and remembered how it hadn't been too long ago he and Marisol had stood in the exact same building and exchange their vows.

Horatio happened to glance up at the glass wall to see someone walking away. A young man with dark hair, striding away in a rushed manner. Horatio knew who it was.

He watched Jake storm out of the courthouse, not once looking back. _  
_


	3. The Flip Side

Thanks for reviewing you seriously awesome people!

Here's another chapter. Warning: some scenes in this chapter may be so cheesy you may be able to dip tortilla chips in it and call it nachos (ha, ha).

* * *

Chapter 3

The Flip Side

Jake had three feeling's scorching like fire in his veins: disappointment, sadness and anger.

He slammed the door of his rental with enough force to make the glass rattle. He jammed his hands in his pockets as he rushed back into the hotel. Part of him hated that he didn't heed Horatio's advice, doing so made him feel like he had opened his own personal Pandora's Box, the other half was pleased. He couldn't imagine the awkwardness and humility he'd have to endure if he had waited and walked up to her on his first day back and had asked her about her relationship status or asked her something along those lines.

Jake stampeded through the lobby of the hotel, getting a few questionable looks from a few of the guests and the manager. He didn't care. They didn't matter.

Jake went up the elevator, cursing it for not traveling faster, stomped through the hall before unlocking his door to reveal his suite. Everything in the hotel room seemed to make him mad. The walls were to pale, the bed was too soft, the air was too clean and Jake could go on. He knew it had nothing to do with the hotel and all to do with his anger and pain.

He was angry with Calleigh for not telling him.

He was angry with Delko for asking her.

He was, most of all, angry with himself for letting her go. _He_ could have been the man across from her as vows were exchanged and rings were slid onto fingers.

Grinding his teeth, he laid down on the way too hard couch (something else that made him mad) pinching the bridge of his nose and letting the full force of the day hit him.

The negative feelings ganged up on him, making him angrier and more hurt than he had ever allowed himself to feel, but also more tired. His muscles ached with exhaustion, a side effect from not sleeping in almost twenty-four hours; he closed his eyes and folded his arms over his chest as sleep overcame him.

* * *

What Jake didn't know was that Calleigh was also in a hotel. Not same one, but one in the Florida Keys. Most of the people said that their honeymoon shouldn't have to be, technically, in the same state, let alone a short plane ride away from Miami. Personally, Eric and Calleigh didn't care how close or far away they were from home; they were together, married and could have had their honeymoon in their house and not have cared. So having their honeymoon in Key West was great.

She and Eric walked into their hotel room as the sun started setting on the water, sending a medley of reds, oranges and pinks off the crystal water into the sky. They dropped the bags next to the couch in the living room part of the suite. They both looked up at the coffee table to see a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket, with a note at the side. Knowing they hadn't ordered champagne, Calleigh curiously picked up the note on the side and read it out loud.

" 'Mr. and Mrs. Delko,'" Calleigh read off the note, heart skipping a beat at her new name. " 'Consider this our gift to you, have a great time away. With love from the gang,'" she concluded, folding the note back up.

* * *

When Jake awoke, the sun had set and the moon sent beams of white light into his room. He groaned with tiredness as he rubbed his eyes with his fingers, only then did he remember the events that had taken place earlier that day. Reality hit him hard as he got up and stretched, a few joints popping while he did so, sleep had failed to decrease the feelings he had harbored since the afternoon. Only another feeling had crept up on him while he was sleeping, and that was emptiness.

Jake felt like the place in his heart where the hope of getting Calleigh back used to be was now dug out, leaving nothing but a hole. A hole which he could attempt to fill with one thing and one thing only…alcohol.

He grabbed his wallet and walked out the door. He wasn't completely sure if he was totally in control of his body right now, he didn't care, so he just let his feet lead him down the hall, to the elevator, back to the lobby and to the hotels bar.

It was dimly lit and smoky, the typical definition of a bar. There was a fair amount of people in the booths and at the bar, but it wasn't too crowded. Jake slid into an empty booth in the back, wanting to blend into the background.

One of the bartenders saw the new customer and made her way over to Jake.

"What'll it be?" she asked in a bored voice.

"Beer," Jake replied, his voice was cold and hollow. She nodded and went back to the bar. Jake put his head back against the back of the booth's seat. He knew he was empty when he was resorting to drinking away his problems, it was very unJake-like. But the reason he had come back to Miami, back to MDPD, was to see Calleigh. He couldn't even think of that now without knowing that he would never be hers. They would probably greet each other kindly and, after many awkward moments, may move on to being friends again. But Jake knew it would never be the same, at least not for him.

He heard the sound of a thump against the table; the bartender had set his beer on the table in front of him. When he looked up she was walking away, but the beer sat in front of him, begging to be drunk. Jake put his palm around the cold bottle and lifted it to his lips as he took a drink.

* * *

Calleigh set her now empty glass next to Eric's on the windowsill; she was gazing out the window, just taking in the moment. A smile graced her lips, she knew this was real. After years of heartbreak and disapointment, she had found somebody she truly loved and who loved her back. She had found someone who she was able to say the words "I do" to without a moment's hesitation or regret in her mind. The love she felt for Eric was as real as the air she breathed, as real as the ring now placed on her left, and as real as the arms wrapped around her waist.

Calleigh placed her hands on Eric's larger ones, their fingers lacing together as she leaned her head against his chest, never wanting this night to end. She would be perfectly content spending the rest of her life here and dying in here at Eric's side. She knew that was impossible, but she could think that way for tonight and the next seven to follow. She glanced up at Eric about the same time he turned his head down to her.

It would always take her breath away at how, even though she had known him for almost thirteen years, every time she looked in his dark yet warm eyes she would feel the warmth of him transfer into her. Eric had always had a special way of making her think even the worst of times would turn out okay, somehow. He and his warmth had always been there. Calleigh felt the same familiar rush when she looked at him now, but it was also different in a way. They were now bonded by more than just their love for one another. Calleigh never thought that two rings would be able to change her so much.

* * *

Two rings. Two simple rings had pushed Jake headfirst into the pool of anguish, though he didn't know it at the time. Two rings and then he answered his phone.

"You're free, Berkeley," the director had said when Jake was in Wyoming.

He had been thrilled at the time, but now he wished he had just let that phone keep ringing. Never knowing what happened with Calleigh would have made his life a hell of a lot easier. He had never felt so lost in his life. What was he supposed to do now? Who was he supposed to love now? When you are constantly being relocated by ATF, you never really know were you belong and working undercover made it harder and less certain. He thought he found the place he truly belonged with Calleigh, but now she had gone. Once again, Jake was a lonely tumbleweed blowing in the harsh wind. With that thought he picked up the beer again and took another swig, letting the alcohol run down his throat. He set the bottle down then, his elbow resting on the table, let his forehead lean into his fist, his fingers molding into his cranium.

* * *

Eric leaned down to kiss Calleigh and she kissed him back, willingly, their lips molding together as perfect as they always had and always will. Calleigh turned the rest of her body towards him, the kiss breaking for a few seconds before she wrapped her arms around his neck and was able to reach his lips again. He pressed his hands against the small of her back, pulling her closer as to not allow any space between them.

For a few moments, Calleigh was completely lost within Eric. She was lost as Eric's lips moved perfectly with hers, how when she closed her eyes she could have swore she was in heaven and she lost was in how gentle and soft this was but strong at the same time. Calleigh's head began to spin; it was only then that she realized that she was becoming oxygen deprived. Calleigh pulled her lips away for a quick moment to take in some air; she opened her eyes at the same time. Calleigh realized that they weren't in the living room anymore, but in the hallway on the way to the bedroom. Calleigh smiled, she must have been more lost in the moment than she thought. But if being lost felt like that, she wouldn't mind being lost forever.

* * *

He knew he was lost, he was lost with no map and no compass to tell him how to be found. Jake had never felt so low, he had never thought his life would come to this. He accepted long ago, actually when he we said goodbye to her at MDPD, that she and Delko would start seeing each other, no doubt. He was somehow able to accept that until he read the article, then those thoughts flew out the window. But before he had read that article he was pretty stable in knowing how Calleigh and Eric would be when he was gone. Never once, though, had the idea of them moving past that stage entered his mind…literally, never. Thinking about it know, that was stupid for him not to consider that possibility.

Jake had could never have pictured her with anybody but him, then again, he was extremely biased and in love with her.

He realized the bottle of beer he had in front of him was now empty, just like his heart. He ordered another beer; he hadn't even started to drink his pain away. He took off the light jacket he was wearing and set it on the table, making himself comfortable.

* * *

Calleigh once again put her lips against Eric's, now that the room was in focus. They were now leaning up against the wall right next to the bedroom door.

"I love you," Eric mumbled against her lips as he slid his hands from her back to either side of her waist.

"I love you, too," Calleigh smiled, her tongue lightly brushing against his lower lip.

Eric moved his hands up the sides of her body to help her remove the black jacket she was shrugging off over the red T-shirt she had changed into before leaving Miami. The black material fell to the floor as Calleigh reached up to start unbuttoning Eric's shirt. Each time a button slid through the slit of the shirt did more and more of Eric become visible to Calleigh. His dark skin contrasted perfectly with the white shirt Calleigh was slowly removing, she soon saw his smooth chest, then firm muscles of his stomach and, once she was able to remove the shirt entirely, she was then able to see the broad muscles of his arms. Their lips parted then closed again as they shuffled past the doorframe.

They were now in the bedroom, a few yards from the bed, as Calleigh ran her fingers down Eric's arms. Eric had his hands on her hips, but he was slowly moving them under her shirt. The warmness of his hands made her shiver with pleasure as his finger traced her navel before traveling behind her back to grab her shirt and pull it over her head. The kiss broke as the cotton was peeled off her body, revealing the slightly lacey black bra she was wearing. The removal of the shirt sent her blonde hair into a disarray, strands of it covering her face.

Eric took her face in his hands, moving the locks of hair out of her eyes as he did so, his eyes smoldering as they looked at each other.

"You're beautiful," he whispered, resting his forehead against hers.

Calleigh chuckled, lightly, and was about to respond to his comment but then his lips were against hers again. He slid his hands back to hold the back of her head, his fingers knotting in her hair.

As they landed softly on the bed, Calleigh closed her eyes to take it all in. That's exactly what they were from the world.

Closed.

* * *

Closed.

What bars in Miami ever closed? Jake wondered as he made his way clumsily through the hotel in attempts to get to his room. The bar in the hotel had closed at ten-thirty.

_Idiots, _Jake thought about the people who made that rule. He had had about half a dozen beers, maybe two or three more…Jake couldn't exactly remember. Everything was blurry and was out of focus. He was defiantly wasted. He hadn't been seriously drunk in years; it had never held any interest to him. In all honesty, he hadn't planned on getting drunk tonight, he thought one or two drinks would be enough. He was realizing that his attempts at drinking Calleigh away were foolish, for even after as many drinks as he had had the pain still remained. That hole in his chest he had been trying to fill with the alcohol was, in fact, deeper now. Dug deeper by a shard of glass from a beer bottle which he should have known better than to drink.

He stumbled onto the elevator and pressed probably two buttons that weren't the right floor before he hit the number that was his destination. The alcohol hadn't numbed the pain, but it did make him drunk and made him feel pathetic at the fact he had resorted to drinking.  
When Jake was certain he was on the right floor, he began to walk down the hallway. He eventually found the door to his room and dug out his room key. It took him awhile to get it into the slot, considering the doorknob seemed to be moving around.

After a few thousand attempts, Jake was able to stumble into his suite. He didn't pay attention to anything in the room as he tried to get to the bedroom. He prayed that if alcohol didn't numb this pain, then hopefully more sleep might.

He didn't bother to take off his shoes, his shirt, nothing. He just slumped against the pillows and let the alcohol knock him out.

* * *

Midnight is midnight, no matter where you are

The beginning of a new day but not quite the end of the night

A time for old dreams to linger

But for new dreams to begin

* * *

_Midnight, Miami…_

Jake had forgotten two things since the last time he had been drunk. Firstly, how disoriented you get and secondly, how a hangover can be a bitch. He blinked his eyes open; his head throbbing and he felt terrible. It was nothing he couldn't handle, considering he had even worse pain. Not even this vile hangover could erase the blessing and the curse that was Calleigh Duquesne. Jake knew that, technically, her name was now Calleigh Delko, _Mrs. _Calleigh Delko. But for Jake she would always be Calleigh Duquesne, nothing else. She still haunted his mind, no matter what he did he tried to forget about her. Remembering how radiant she looked this afternoon at the courthouse made his head spin more and made his heart ache.

Jake didn't even want to think about seeing her whenever she came back with her new…husband; he shuddered at the word. He didn't want to think about the future or the past or what might have been. He just wanted to forget for one night. He closed his eyes again, hoping he would succumb to what alcohol was left in his system if not for awhile, just to visit his oasis for an hour or two where he could act like this never had happened.

He did succumb to the alcohol, but even as he did, the pain didn't go. He didn't go to his oasis but stayed in his dry desert and he would stay there for God knows how long.

* * *

_Midnight, Key West…_

Calleigh found herself with her head lying on Eric's bare chest, with a sheet wrapped around her. Eric had one hand on the small of her back, gently pinning her to him, and he traced the contours of her spine with his fingers on his other hand; slowly, running up and down her bare skin that the sheet didn't cover. Calleigh had her arms resting underneath her; she slowly moved them from under her to either side of Eric's torso. She slowly moved them up his sides, over his ribcage, feeling the curves of his ribs. She continued across the planes of his chest, turning her head so her chin was resting on it. When she reached his collarbone, she continued over the curve of his shoulders and back down, stopping back at his chest as she leaned down and pressed her lips against his skin. The moonbeams that came through the narrow openings of the blinds glinted against her wedding band. The wedding band Eric had slid on her finger a mere few hours ago.

Calleigh pulled her lips away from his chest and looked at him, folding her hands under her chin. She smiled a sad smile at Eric.

"What's wrong?" he asked, tenderly.

Calleigh shook her head and softened her smile. Nothing was wrong. She was here in his arms with the wedding ring he had slid on her finger that legally bound her to him. Everything was perfect, for once. It all seemed too good to be true.

Calleigh looked down at his chest and smoothed her thumb against his warm skin.

"How do I know this isn't a dream?" she asked, quietly.

Eric slid his hand from the small of her back, up her spine, over her shoulder blade, to the side of her face. She looked up at him; her green eyes meeting his brown one's. He caressed her cheek with his thumb.

"This isn't a dream," he whispered.

"How can you be sure?"

He lifted his other hand to tuck some stray hair behind her ear.

"Trust me," he said, softly.

Calleigh nodded, slightly. "I trust you," she whispered. She moved forward to kiss him, he kissed her back.

* * *

I made up the short poem in this, incase you were wondering. I hope you enjoyed!

Please review!


	4. Secrets and Messages

Thanks a million for the reviews! this chapter is a bit short, but I hope you enjoy anyway.

* * *

Chapter 4

Secrets and Messages

Jake had never thought that he would be so happy to here the words "Calleigh and Eric are still on their honeymoon," when he entered the locker room on Monday. True, the idea of _her_ with _him_ on _their _honeymoon made him sick to his stomach, but it also meant he didn't have to see either of them that day. According to the talk he heard when he approached his locker, they wouldn't be back until Wednesday. He turned into one of the aisles where his locker and the source of the voices were.

He saw Wolfe and Natalia getting ready for another day of work. Natalia had her back to Jake as she was facing Wolfe, who could see Jake behind her shoulder. When Wolfe noticed him he stopped mid-sentence and met his eye. Natalia noticed and turned to face him.

"Hey, Berkeley," Wolfe greeted. Both he and Natalia didn't seem overjoyed to see him, but they also didn't seem upset to see him. To them, Jake was just there. They didn't really get to know one another in his days here. Except for that time Jake he did almost throw Natalia in jail for her ex's murder, which could have been the reason they didn't get to another each other. Jake, however, could find one emotion in their eyes. Awkwardness. He knew they were thinking about how it was going to be when Delko and Calleigh returned, considering they didn't know that Jake saw the wedding, Jake didn't dwell on that for long.

"Wolfe," Jake nodded before turning to Natalia. "Good to see you, Natalia."

"Likewise," she smiled a bit, he could have swore it was a smile of pity.

"So, you're back," Wolfe stated the obvious.

Jake nodded as he opened his locker and hung up his gym bag.

"ATF finally thought I can walk outside, so they let me loose," Jake explained, pulling out his badge and attaching it to his belt.

"What made you decide to come back to Miami?" Wolfe asked.

Jake didn't miss the look Natalia shot at him after he said that, she must have gathered that the only reason he would come back was Calleigh. Jake wanted to dodge this conversation at all costs.

"Got sick of the small towns," Jake said, it wasn't a total lie, he closed his locker door. "But, hopefully, no new threats will come up and I can stay here for a while."

At that moment, the elevator doors opened and someone walked out, Jake recognized him as Jesse Cardoza.

"We've got a case," he said as he approached the three, he was slightly taken aback when he saw Jake. "You look familiar."

_So much for not bringing up that day,_ Jake thought.

"I was up here a few days ago," Jake shrugged.

"You two know each other?" Natalia asked, looking back and forth between the two.

"Not officially," Jesse said, as he stuck his hand. "CSI Jesse Cardoza."

"Detective Jake Berkeley," Jake shook his hand.

"So you're the new guy," Jesse nodded, looking as though he was trying to remember something.

"And you're the new CSI," Jake said. "Anyone else join up since I've been gone?"

"Well, Jesse joined after moving from LA, then…" Ryan paused a second, he had been about to say Eric quit then Walter joined then Eric came back just before Walter switched back to graveyard shift. But Ryan knew that it wasn't smart so bring Eric up, so he cut to the chase. "Then this guy named Walter came from the nightshift, but then he went back to the nightshift. So, Cardoza here is the only new blood for you."

"Okay, got it," Jake said.

Jesse looked like he had just remembered something.

"I remember you now," Jesse said, furrowing his brow. "Weren't you the guy who was up here looking for Calleigh Duquesne the day she and Delko got-?"

"So, the case, let's get going," Natalia cutting Jesse off before he could finish, she grabbed Jesse by the arm and started pulling him out the door, Wolfe behind them.

"See you around, Jake," Wolfe hollered over his shoulder.

Jake just nodded as the weight of the truth began to suffocate him. Eventually, word was going to get out that he knew and with that came more awkward moments and looks have sympathy. Something he didn't want or need.

* * *

"Why the hell did you rush me out for?" Jesse asked Natalia and Ryan when she released him when they were standing by the Hummer.

Natalia and Ryan knew that they shouldn't be so stressed with him, the guy didn't know, but it was just so frustrating that he almost spilled the beans.

"That guy in there," Natalia said, pointing to the building. "Is Calleigh's ex-boyfriend."

They could tell on his face, that this was news to Jesse.

"And he didn't know about-?" he started to ask.

"No," Natalia and Ryan replied in unison.

"Wow," Jesse raised his eyebrows. "Poor guy."

"Wait," Ryan said to Jesse. "He came up here the same day they got married?"

"Yeah, he was looking for Calleigh."

"What did you say to him?" Natalia asked.

Jesse thought for a moment.

"I told him Calleigh took a personal day," Jesse said.

"That's all?"

"Yeah."

"Good, I have a feeling the poor guy won't want to find out about this anytime soon," Natalia said.

"Guys, he is going to find out sooner or later," Jesse pointed out.

"I'm sure he'd rather be told by Calleigh than one of us, we weren't even supposed to know that Calleigh and Jake had a relationship," Natalia shrugged.

"Does Eric or Calleigh know that Jake has come back?" Ryan asked, this thought crossing his mind for the first time.

There was a heavy silence.

"You know what?" Natalia sighed. "I don't think they do."

* * *

Jake walked onto the interrogation floor, he saw Horatio standing in one of the interrogation rooms, gazing out the window. Jake didn't know what he was going to gain from talking to Horatio, but he knew he couldn't lose anything so there was no point in not talking.

Jake opened the door to the interrogation room and went to stand by Horatio at the window. They didn't acknowledge each other for a minute or so; the two just looked at the world around them. Jake wondered how many people were having good days as they entered and exited MDPD. He probably didn't know them, but he greatly envied them if their lives were running smoothly.

"You came in, didn't you, Jake?" Horatio asked, already knowing the answer as he now looked at the horizon line outside of the windows and no longer the people outside.

"You knew I would," Jake sighed, not looking at Horatio.

"I was hoping you wouldn't," Horatio said, softly. "Calleigh wouldn't have wanted you to find out that way."

"Would it have made any difference whether she told me, or you told me?" Jake snapped, looking up for the first time. It didn't matter who told him or how he was told, they would still be telling him the same thing.

"Guess we'll never know, will we?" Horatio asked as he glanced over at Jake.

Jake took a deep breath through his nose before looking back out the window; the stairs were almost bare with the exception of two patrolmen escorting out a suspect.

"How did you know?" Jake asked Horatio, knowing Horatio would know he meant his and Calleigh's relationship.

"IAB has the tendency to let things slip."

"That doesn't surprise me," Jake scoffed, then he softened his tone. "H… is she happy?"

"The happiest I've seen either of them in a long time," Horatio said, his voice baring nothing but deep, undeniable, truth.

Jake was surprised that not one, but two, emotions filled him. Anger, that one was obvious and expected. The one he didn't think to expect was relief, he was glad that she was at least happy. She was able to find someone she could trust and open her heart to; Calleigh didn't find that in just anyone. She was probably happier with Delko than she ever would have been with Jake, but that didn't stop Jake from loathing Delko.

"Great," Jake nodded.

* * *

The Tuesday they had to leave, was the day they had to set an alarm clock. It rang out way earlier than either of them expected to; its harsh, ear-piercing, sound could awaken the dead, so it certainly woke them up. They had to be on a plane back to Miami in two hours, having to work the next day. Calleigh reached over and shut off an alarm for the first time in a week, maybe longer, she wasn't certain. She was still drowsy, her body craving more sleep, but she and Eric both knew it wasn't an option.

Eric pulled her closer into his chest; she stirred in his arms before rolling over to look at him.

""Morning," she smiled, sleepily.

Eric chuckled at how tried she seemed but still had her ability to smile.

"Good morning," he smiled back. He lightly traced her lips with his forefinger, marveling at the perfection of her lips. Once he reached the corner of her mouth, he moved his finger down her jaw before cupping her chin as he pressed his lips to hers. Calleigh ignored her tiredness as she kissed him back and wrapped her arms around his torso, the only thing between her skin and his was his shirt (which she somehow ended up wearing).

He wrapped his arms around her waist and sat up on his knees in the center of the bed, bringing Calleigh with him. Calleigh moved her arms so they were locked around Eric's neck, while his hands remained on her waist. Calleigh had forgotten what the word tired meant as her heart started to race and blood started to boil, in the good way. They seemed to have forgotten about the plane they were supposed to catch, as the only thing that they focused on was each other. Calleigh had all of her attention on Eric as her lips tugged at his and as she wrapped her leg around his waist, linking her to him. Eric was only thinking about Calleigh as he slid one of his hands from its resting position on her back and down the fabric that kept her upper body covered. He continued to move his hand to curve around her waist and down the leg she had around his hip. His hand continued to slide to her thigh, stopping when her skin became exposed as the shirt ended.

Eric began to slide his hand under the shirt when the sound of a cell phone ruined the moment. They had turned their phones off the whole time they'd been here so not to be interrupted by anyone, but they went ahead and turned them back on last night. They were now both regretting that decision as their lips broke a part and they rested their foreheads against one another's, both of them sighing at the fact they were at mercy of time.

"I'd call that a sign telling us to get up," Eric said, softly.

Calleigh chuckled before admitting, "Maybe."

_Ring!_

The phone rung again, they turned to the bedside table to see it was Eric's ringing. Calleigh reached over and picked it up, frowning at the caller ID.

"It's Judge Kemp," she sighed, holding out the phone to him. "Probably should take it."

Neither of them seemed thrilled about the interruption from the judge, but it probably would be best if Eric answered it.

"Yeah," he nodded, taking the phone from her.

"I'll be in the shower," Calleigh said as she untwined herself from Eric and stood up, but before she left she gave him a final, quick kiss on the lips. "I'll see you back there," she whispered, seductively.

Eric smiled as she left; she picked up her cell on the way out. She checked her missed calls on her way to the bathroom. She had one from Natalia, one from Jake, one from-.

Calleigh stopped dead in her tracks. Jake?

_Wasn't he supposed to be in hiding?_ Calleigh thought, somewhat confused.

Calleigh noticed he left a voicemail, slightly apprehensive, she listened to it.

"Um…hi, Calleigh, it's me…Jake," he stammered on the message. "Um…I'm back in Miami, so…call me back when you get this it'd be great to hear from you…I guess I'll see you around…bye," he concluded.

Calleigh dropped the phone from her ear, starring dumbfounded at the screen before coming to her senses and press the button that returned to her wallpaper of her cell phone, lowering it to her side. Her bare feet padded down the hallway to the bathroom.

_I guess I'll see you around._

Jake was expecting to see her, but the her he was expecting was Calleigh Duquesne, not Calleigh Delko. Calleigh knew nothing good could come from this. Jake had asked her to wait, but she refused and she never regretted that, especially not now that she was married to someone who had made her the happiest she had been since…Calleigh couldn't think of a time she had been happier, there was no beating around the bush. But she also couldn't deny she had once loved Jake and she thought she had been happy then. Now, however, she realized there had been something missing in her relationship with him. Jake was smart, funny, and friendly. But Eric had something Jake didn't have; Jake could never come close to Eric's warmth. When she was with Jake, and just about everybody else, she always felt like she had to keep her emotions in check every time she was sad or hurt. She had always been afraid if she did, people would no longer see her as the strong woman, but a weak little girl. With Eric she felt no shame letting her emotions breakthrough when she needed to, she knew Eric would still see her as strong no matter how many tears she shed. Eric was this orb of happiness and fulfillment in Calleigh's heart she knew she would never find in anybody else…not even Jake.

But even through the roller coaster ride that ended in a somewhat bittersweet way, Jake had meant something to Calleigh. Yes, she had fallen out of love with him and, yes, he had broken her heart once or twice, but that didn't mean she hated him and that she had forgotten all his good qualities. That was exactly why she wasn't looking forward to seeing him tomorrow (making the assumption he had returned to MDPD) and telling him she had married Eric.

She stepped into the bathroom, flipped on the light, and placed her phone on the marble counter top, a dark cloud now hanging over her shoulders. Calleigh hated being the barer of bad news, especially when it involved hurting someone who she was once close to. She knew seeing Jake was going to be awkward, painful and, for him, potentially heartbreaking. All in all a bad combination.

* * *

Hope you liked it!

Please Review!


	5. Drama

Thanks again for the reviews! I'll try and be better about responding to them, but you know how it is, not enough hours in the day.

Sorry for the wait on this chapter, I couldn't think of how to word everything. But, without further ado, I finally got it posted. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 5

Drama

Jake would probably rather of heard the cry of the banshee instead of the ringing of his alarm clock when Wednesday morning came around. He groaned with tiredness and stretched over to hit the 'stop' button. He starred at the white ceiling, wishing he had been this tired enough to sleep last night when sleep seemed to elude him. His mind kept going over how many ways today could go, he could only come up with three possibilities: bad, very bad, or terrible.

The same nerves he felt when he first went to MDPD over a week ago came back to him, but he knew they would only intensify as the morning progressed. He scoffed at himself; these weren't the same nerves he had when he first went back. These were worse. The nerves had switched from the fear of her _not _wanting to take him back to the reality of seeing her and _knowing _she wouldn't take him back. He grew nervous about seeing her and having those lovey-dovey feelings come back to him. He could just see her with her long, soft blonde hair flowing gracefully down her back, her emerald green eyes sparkling in the light and a smile gracing her features. Jake could just see, even in his mind, how beautiful she looked. Unfortunately, Jake's imagination wasn't the best and if she looked that beautiful in his mind, he didn't want to think how beautiful she would look when he would see her.

The oh-so familiar stabbing in his heart returned as he thought of her. Jake remembered how he had used to run his fingers through her golden hair, the soft locks feeling like silk in his hands. He saw how her eyes had glowed every time he was able to gaze into them. Then, the worst memory of all, he could almost feel her soft, warm, lips against hers when she had kissed him. The last time they had kissed each other had felt like eons ago, but he could still taste Calleigh on his lips. He could still feel her arms around his neck, her waist against his as he held her tight, how her body felt against his during those late nights he could still feel her hand in his as she slept against his bare chest…her hand. The hand that now held a ring; one stupid, tiny piece of jewelry had yanked him back to his nerves. How was he supposed to stand looking at her after being remembering all of those details and not being able to experience them?

For God's sake, he was remembering past sexual experiences with a now married woman. He had it bad.

He knew that if he stayed in bed any longer he was going to be late. Grudgingly, he got out of bed to face a day that was sure to be hell on wheels, and that was looking at it with optimism.

* * *

Eric awoke as the screech of the alarm yanked him out of his subconscious; he reached over to turn it off. He turned over to see Calleigh's eyes fluttering open, clearly roused by the clock. She looked over at him, smiling.

Why did she have to look at her phone yesterday? Maybe then she would have been a bit more enthused about going to work if she didn't know that she would have to have a chat, a very awkward chat, with Jake. Then again, seeing a shirtless Eric in front of her, she was only enthused about one thing. She slid her hands around his middle and pulled herself closer to him. Smiling, Eric wrapped one of his arms around her naked waist and the other he reached up to have his fingertips brush against her cheek before cupping her face and pulling her closer, so that her lips were centimeters away from hers.

"I love you," he whispered.

Calleigh chuckled.

"You never told me that," she said, playfully.

"I'm telling you now," he laughed, matter-of-factly.

"In that case," Calleigh grinned before she put her lips against Eric's. The atmosphere was no longer light and laughable, but heavy with sincerity of the moment.

Their lips parted and when they did Calleigh was able to breathe an "I love you, too."

* * *

Calleigh pulled a brush through her freshly blow-dried hair as Eric pulled on his shirt.

"Nervous?" he asked her.

Calleigh gave him a confused look.

"Nervous about what?" she asked.

Eric gave her a look.

"You know what," he said.

Calleigh realized what he meant and nodded in understanding, not in an answer to his question.

_They were on the plane ride back to Miami, Jake's voice in her head. _

_Eric should know, she decided that instantly. The problem was _how _to tell him. Calleigh had no idea how he would react; Jake had never been one of his favorite subjects since Jake and Calleigh's relationship started, even after it ended. She didn't know how to approach this, but she couldn't just let him find out when they went to work, she cringed at the thought. _

_She decided just to suck it up and gently lean into the conversation._

"_Um…I had a voicemail on my phone today, it was from Jake," she more blurted it out more than eased into it._

Real smooth, Cal, _she thought to herself, sarcastically._

_Eric didn't seem too bothered by it on the outside. Inwardly, however, he felt the slightest pang of unreasonable jealousy. Every time Jake's name was brought up it always took him back to the months Jake and Calleigh were together. Every crime scene Eric happened to be at would Calleigh and Jake be, together. Most of the time, the two kept everything very professional, considering they weren't supposed to have a relationship. Sometimes, though, Eric would see them share a more than friendly smile. The sight would always make his blood boil with anger and he would dig the granite of his pencil deeper into the paper, making it tear and ruining his nearly completed sketch of the crime scene._

_But Eric kept in mind that it was him, not Jake, who Calleigh was flying home with from their honeymoon. Bearing that in mind, Eric didn't overreact about it._

"_What did he say?" Eric asked._

"_That he was back in Miami," Calleigh said, nervous calming slightly, seeing that Eric was calm about this. "And I think he's going to be working at PD, again."_

_The same thoughts that Calleigh been thinking immediately entered his mind. If Eric had been uncomfortable with Jake and Calleigh just seeing each other, he knew Jake was probably feel worse that Calleigh was now married. Eric had accepted long ago that Jake and Calleigh had loved each other and part of him still suspected that Jake was still in love with Calleigh. _

_This was going to be very interesting; in a good or bad way, Eric didn't quite know. But he had a sick feeling they would soon find out._

"No," Calleigh said, truthfully to Eric. "I just don't want to have to go through the drama."

"And what makes you think there will be any?"

Calleigh gave him a look.

"It's Jake, there's always drama when he's around."

That much was true, there were times when Jake was a walking-talking soap opera, at least that's what the situations always felt like. Calleigh had never wanted to be apart of a love triangle, but when Jake kissed her in the lab, in Eric's sight, she knew that she wasn't going to be able to avoid it. She thought that had ended when Jake had left, she had been proven wrong.

"He was going to find out sooner or later," Eric pointed out.

Calleigh knew he was right, Jake may have heard it through the grapevine or would have come back to MDPD and found out. But did it really have to be straight after their honeymoon on their first day back?

"I know," she sighed.

* * *

"Eric and Calleigh are coming back today," Ryan said when he walked into the locker room.

"Thank God, we need their help around here," Natalia sighed, opening her locker.

"Oh, I'm not worried about that. I'm just looking forward to having some fun with them," Ryan smiled.

"Ryan," Natalia sighed, exasperated. "Can't you just leave them be?"

"Fine, I'll just talk about last weeks football game," Ryan held his hands up in surrender.

Natalia began to nod in approval but then she looked at him and said, "But football season's over."

"Exactly," Ryan chuckled.

"_Ryan,_" Natalia said in disbelief, catching on. "Sometimes I think you're still stuck in high school."

Ryan shrugged.

"I think they're going to have enough on their mind with Jake being back here without you making fun about their sex life," Natalia commented.

"That's exactly why I should, just think of me as the comic relief," Ryan shrugged.

"Comic relief," she scoffed. "You're just going to make everything worse."

"Okay, I won't say anything," Ryan sighed.

At that moment, Eric and Calleigh walked in.

"Hi," Natalia smiled at them.

"Hey," Eric and Calleigh replied in unison, smiling back.

"You guys have a good time?" Natalia asked.

"Yeah," Eric replied, opening his locker. "Thanks for asking."

"So," Calleigh asked, as she too opened her locker. "What did we miss while we were gone?"

"Well," Ryan sighed, closing his locker. "There was a really wild football game after you guys left. Yeah, it was the Miami Dolphins vs. New Orleans Saints."

Natalia closed her eyes and pursed her lips in disbelief, she should have known he wouldn't keep his mouth shut, while Calleigh and Eric caught on to his metaphor and made it their mission to not look away from their lockers.

"I heard it was a rough game, went into double overtime and everything. Tackle upon tackle, it got pretty dirty. Both of them scored, though," Ryan said casually, grinning. "Wouldn't surprise me if the players were sore the next morning."

"As you can see, Ryan hasn't changed in the last week," Natalia said, trying to save the newly weds from further humiliation. "We have a twenty-two year old gunshot victim waiting for us on Miami Beach. Ryan and I were just about to head out."

"We'll meet you guys there in a few," Calleigh said. "I have to tell my replacement in firearms that he's free to go."

"And I have to talk to H about a case from a few weeks ago," Eric said, closing his locker.

"Okay, we'll see you then," Natalia nodded.

With that, the Delkos left the locker room, Eric shooting Ryan a slightly annoyed look while doing so. Ryan, of course, smiled. Once they were out of sight, Natalia turned to Ryan.

"Saints vs. Dolphins? Really?" Natalia asked.

"Well, I know she's not from New Orleans but Darnell doesn't have an NFL team," Ryan said, dodging Natalia's real accusation. Natalia rolled her eyes and walked out of the locker room.

* * *

Jake watched her in silence; she had no clue he was there as her back was to him. He had entered the firearm's lab and saw her with the suspected murder weapon in hand as she took aim at the target. Jake's stomach did flips as he watched her pull the hammer back and pull the trigger; he was shocked to realize that they weren't nervous flips. They were the kind of flips he felt every time he had saw her. Jake had been too caught up in his pity for himself and nerves that he never considered the bright side of what it would be like to actually see Calleigh. He was now realizing he was actually _glad _to see her, despite the circumstances.

Calleigh had finished her test fires and put the gun down. Jake wanted to say something, but what? He tried to think of something that would make this as least awkward as possible. But Jake had drawn the conclusion last night that awkwardness was inevitable. With that, he took a deep breath and started to deconstruct the wall that had been built up between the two of them.

"Hey, Calleigh," he sighed, trying not to sound too happy or too gloomy.

Calleigh recognized his voice, the voice that was rough and smooth all at the same time with a hint of a Southern accent. The lab became coated with heaviness as Calleigh turned towards Jake. He looked the exact same, except for the light circles under his eyes, same dark hair, light stubble and dark brown eyes. Calleigh's heart began to thump harder in her chest due to the anxiety of the moment, she hoped that was why.

"Hi," Calleigh tried to sound as casual; she surprised herself by pulling it off. "So…um…ATF set you free."

"Yeah, thank God," Jake said.

"Back in homicide?" she asked, trying to keep the small talk going as long as possible.

"Yeah, hopefully the Crypt Kings are done with me for good."

A sudden, but totally irrational, fear came over Calleigh when he said that _hopefully the Crypt Kings are done with me for good. _Did that mean they were still out there, possibly looking for him. Calleigh dropped that idea quickly from her mind, why did she even care?

_You've known the guy for years, you should worry about him,_ Calleigh told herself.

"You mean they may still decide to come after you?" Calleigh asked.

Jake could have swore he heard something that resembled worry in her voice, but he knew his mind was maybe just playing tricks on him.

"It's possible," Jake admitted. "But they have a new guy in, he knows all their plans so if my name ever came up I'd be the first to know."

"Bet it was hard for your new guy to try and get in. I hear the Kings are having trouble letting newbies in after what happened with you and Ken McGarthy," Calleigh smirked.

Jake looked at the floor at that point.

"Yeah, I…um," he hesitated. "I probably could have came back sixth months ago if we had been able to get him in sooner."

Calleigh didn't quite know what to say, but Jake seemed to have more on his mind as he walked towards her.

"I wish I could have come back six months ago, maybe things would be different," Jake's voice becoming more serious and meaningful. "Maybe things between _us _would be different."

There was now one yard of ground between Jake and Calleigh. Calleigh knew Jake would think that way, if he had come back maybe their relationship would have a chance. He was wrong, six months ago, things had been a bit on rocky ground between her and Eric, but she had still in love with him. Six months ago, Eric and Calleigh never quite knew where their relationship stood. He was at the State Attorney's office, she CSI and one thing led to another and somehow, they never really figured out how it started, they started having sex again. Sex, that was it, for awhile. The closest term she could think of for their relationship at that point was friends with benefits. Calleigh scoffed at that the second it entered her mind, she and Eric weren't just friends, they could never be just friends again; there was too much feeling for them to be just friends. Then after another brush of death in April and Eric almost lost her, things changed. He had told her later that night, he was at the hospital with her "I can't lose you, in anyway."

Few months later, he had decided to return to CSI and a few more months later they were married.

Basically, even six months ago, Jake and Calleigh still would never be.

"Jake," she sighed. "Things wouldn't be different."

"Because of Delko?" Jake sneered, his voice harsher than usual.

Calleigh wasn't threatened by his tone.

"That's part of it," she nodded, indifferently.

"You were seeing him at the time?" Jake's anger was defiantly getting the better of him and he didn't know how to stop it.

"Is it really any of your business?" Calleigh asked, coldly. Jake had no right to be questioning her life like this.

"That's a no," Jake smirked.

"You don't know anything about this!" Calleigh almost shouted. "So just butt out!"

Calleigh turned back to her evidence, fuming.

"I know that if I had come back six months ago you and Delko probably wouldn't be married right now," Jake blurted out, this was not going the way he wanted.

Calleigh froze with shock and anger. How did he know about that? Someone must have told him, but who? All these were questions Calleigh had no answer to but was determined to get to the bottom of. She crossed her arms and turned back to him.

"Who told you about that?" Calleigh demanded.

"No one," Jake answered, honestly.

Calleigh didn't believe him, she made a note to talk to everyone that knew about the ceremony and get an answer out of them.

"I was there," Jake admitted.

At first, Calleigh wasn't sure he heard him right, but there was no denying the truth. How could he have been there? How could he have known?

"How?" she asked, knowing that one word wasn't really the clearest way to state a question but she was getting too confused.

"I followed Horatio to the courthouse, went inside and I saw you and Delko," Jake said, slightly cutting corners on the story. "I guess congratulation's are in order."

"Thanks," Calleigh replied, icily. Him crashing her and Eric's wedding just made her angry for reasons she couldn't really explain or comprehend. What rights did Jake have to be there?

Jake probably should have stopped there, but he needed to get these feelings out even if he was just digging his grave with each syllable.

"Do you realize, maybe if you had chosen to wait, you and I could be the ones married?" Jake asked, spitefully.

"No, Jake," Calleigh retorted. "I don't realize that, you and I could never be married! If we were, I would always be miserable and worried. You would always be gone, I wouldn't know anything if something-!"

"You've already given me this speech, Cal!" Jake snapped. Her words had already dug a hole deep into his heart and he didn't need another.

"Then you know why it never would have worked out," she said, simply.

These words hurt Jake worse than him leaving, than seeing her getting married and anything else he had ever experienced.

"I'm sorry, Jake, but if we had gotten married, raised a family and I knew something could happen that could ruin everything," Calleigh said, softly. "That possibility is just too much of a risk."

Jake nodded, reluctantly. His mind wasn't totally processing what he was being told, but he knew that Calleigh had no intention of accepting that a life with him could be a good thing. The room started to suffocate him; he needed to get the hell out of here.

"Guess I'll see you around?" Jake asked.

"Yeah," Calleigh said, gently.

With that, Jake headed for the door and left the lab.

He made his way down the hall, Jake was filled with sadness and anger could only think of one thing: this wasn't over, he was going to fight.

* * *

I tried my best, but I am _awful _at these awkward meeting scenes. Hopefully, it'll get better.

Please review!

BTW: For those of you who haven't heard the spoilers (I caved and checked them out) of what happens in 8.20 (air's Monday, can't wait), that's what I meant by Calleigh's "brush of death back in April"

Sorry if I just gave something away that you didn't want to know.


	6. White Horse

Okay, why couldn't have "Meltdown" premiered _before _I started writing this fic? It would have made the plot for this a bit better! But, oh well, I'm on a roll now and if I attempt to change anything my hair will surely turn gray from stress (maybe.)

Anyway…

Originally, I was going to have this as an independent songfic but then I decided it would be interesting to write this flashback chapter as a songfic instead of the usual old flashback, I like to keep things interesting.

The song this is set to is "White Horse" by Taylor Swift.

Enjoy and I'm sorry for type-o's, I wrote this in a rush and didn't have time to edit.

* * *

Chapter 6

White Horse

Calleigh's watched Jake as he left the lab, door closing behind him. She continued to stare at the silver door, even after Jake was gone. Calleigh felt an assortment of emotions overtake her, her normally organized mind suddenly wracking itself with the sudden desire to get them all figured out. She felt angry, annoyed and slightly stung by his coldness and how he had handled this situation.

Calleigh supposed she couldn't blame Jake for the wedding incident; anyone would probably react the same way under the circumstances. But the rest she had every right to be mad about.

"_Do you realize, maybe if you had chosen to wait, you and I could be the ones married?" _he had asked, Calleigh couldn't deny that Jake Berkeley had some nerve.

How could _he _be the one blaming her for how their relationship ended? How could _he _be the one throwing out predictions of how they could have been if _she _had done something? Unless Calleigh's memory was faulty, which she was confident it was not, Jake had been the one to call it quits first. Yet here he was, throwing all her decisions back in her face and making her out to be the Wicked Witch of Dade County.

Calleigh still hadn't forgotten how hurt she was when Jake told her they needed to "let things cool down," she still remembered that day when she got home and how she had made the decision to move on from him.

_Memory…2007…_

There was her house; the good ol' place in Bal Harbour. She had loved it since she had moved in years ago. Nothing too big, but livable and, Calleigh's favorite part, a mere ten minutes away from her beloved job. And, for the past few months, had been the place she and Jake would drive to at the end of the day. It was defiantly home.

But, looking at it through the windshield now, it wasn't the home she had been hoping to retire to after a long day. Jake had been practically living with Calleigh in the one-story house in front of her and she knew that it would be inhabited with his memory. This was now just another home of yet another doomed love connection. Part of her was sure that she and Jake had something going for them, that's probably why this hurt so much.

Calleigh very rarely felt so low and heartbroken and that's how she knew this was bad. She had no warning this was would happen, that morning at the scene had been nothing but smiles and playful teasing, but that all changed in less than twelve hours. And she knew nothing would change by just sitting there, so she sighed and climbed out of her car.

Heels clunking against the cement, Calleigh made her way up the rest of the driveway and up to her door. She unlocked the door and walked from the foyer to the kitchen. On the counter sat her house phone, the message light blinking. She sat her purse on the counter and hit the playback button.

"You have one new message," the annoying voice of the female the stupid company decided to put on the machine recited. "New message: one."

"Hi, Calleigh, it's Eric," his voice sad as it came through the speakers. "Listen, this whole thing was a mistake, I didn't mean to…I never wanted to hurt you and I'm really sorry. Call me when you can…I mean, you don't have to if you're still," he sighed, struggling to find the words. "I'm really sorry."

With that he hung up. Calleigh sighed; she didn't know what to think.

_**Say you're sorry**_

_**That face of an angel**_

_**Comes out just when you need it to**_

Calleigh knew that she shouldn't be angry with Eric, it was an accident. But if he hadn't said anything to Stetler, then maybe she wouldn't be alone right now. She would be with Jake and her heart wouldn't be tearing in half. Calleigh knew Eric was too much of a great man and the two were defiantly too close for her to stay mad at forever, but as for now, she could let her anger consume her until she blew off enough steam to be logical about this. For tonight, she could be mad at Eric Delko and she could sure as hell be upset with Jake Berkeley. She probably should have been angrier with Eric, so why was she grinding her teeth at the thought of Jake's name.

Maybe because Jake had been the first stable relationship she had had in awhile, maybe because she had trusted him and told him things she wouldn't tell anyone else. Those reasons could have played a small roll. But most likely the main reason was to do with her risking her heart. Calleigh very rarely put her heart on the line for love; an instinct gained after having it hurt a bit too often.

Jake was the first real relationship since John died and the first guy she had romantically linked feelings for since Peter, Calleigh couldn't quite wrap her head around Eric just yet and now wasn't the time to do so. The point was Jake had held the combination to the safe that was her heart, Calleigh stopped the "key to her heart" expression a long time ago, and now he had taken all it contents.

_**As I paced back and forth**_

_**All this time**_

_**Cuz I honestly believed in you**_

She had been stupid enough to buy that he had changed since college, a bit less self-righteous and saw the bigger picture now that he had been on the force. But now he was stepping out on her, on them and what they had, to protect himself from Stetler. _Stetler? _The IAB agent from the seventh ring of Hades, sent to stab CSI's in the back time and again? Jake saw him and his rules as a reason to end things?

"_I can't step out for you, Calleigh."_

"_Something's never change."_

That's what she said after she took him down at the Crypt Kings hide out. Why hadn't she stuck to her guns when he tried to restart their relationship? Guy's like Jake never changed. He couldn't step out then to give her information, now he couldn't let his job slip away by staying with her. The job had obviously meant more and Calleigh was worth losing while it wasn't.

_**Holding on**_

_**The days drag on**_

_**Stupid girl**_

_**I should've known, I should've known**_

Calleigh needed to stop this; she needed to quit putting hope in her relationships. This was Miami, Florida; she worked in its Crime Lab and all the relationships she had there ended in turmoil.

Calleigh had never been one to believe in a fairytale ending, magic mirrors and glass slippers had never been an interest of hers growing up and never had she relied on magic to help her fall in love. Calleigh always knew if she found someone that things would just happen, without the aid of a magic wand. But, as yet another doomed love story came to a close, odds of her finding someone were waning, whether with magic on her side or not.

After all, she _was _Calleigh Duquesne. That was all she was and all she would ever be, she wasn't special, just another blonde with a badge. To most people, that was probably understating her, but that's how Calleigh saw herself. The only things that separated Calleigh from the rest of the force was her past and her toolmark's/firearm's specialty. Nothing that called for a so-called "Prince Charming."

_**I'm not a princess**_

_**This ain't a fairytale **_

_**I'm not the one you'll sweep off her feet, lead her up the stairwell**_

_**This ain't Hollywood, this is a small town**_

Calleigh deleted the message on the machine and marched to her hall closet, angry and sad tears threatening to let themselves fall. On the floor of the closet was a cardboard box, she didn't remember why or when it was put there, but at least now it served a purpose. Calleigh picked it up and closed the door before making her way to the bedroom.

She entered and it was the same as she had left it, minus the fact Jake wasn't sleeping in the mess of sheets on the bed. She sneaked out earlier that morning, not knowing the next time she'd step foot in here would be without Jake and with the intention of removing him from her home, permanently.

She made a beeline for the chest of drawers and pulled opened the one on the top, where she had moved all her ammo from to make room for him.

_He want's to end a good thing? Fine with me! _Calleigh thought, bitterly as she pulled out his clothes and threw them into the box.

She wasn't sure if she totally believed that she was fine, but she was positive that she and Jake had a good thing going for them. She had never regretted seeing him again when he came to Miami, well, at least not until now. She knew that she could never be certain to how all this would end up if they had stuck it out, the future was never clear, but she was sure it would have ended better than this.

_**I was a dreamer before you went**_

_**And let me down**_

But if he was thinking she was going to turn back, he had another thing coming. She was sick of waiting on people, whether it be her father, a person to tell her the truth or Jake. She wasn't going to hold on for somebody, because in the end she always ended up disappointed.

This was the end of the two of them; she would not give him a second chance.

And with that, she closed the drawer.

_**Now it's too late for you **_

_**And your white horse**_

_**To come around**_

She had gathered all evidence of Jake from her house, all of it now thrown in mess inside a cardboard box. Calleigh wondered why she had expected anything else out of this relationship other than a bunch of clothes in a box. She was always a sucker for giving people second chances, only to in the end up disappointed then stop believing in them. Like how she had given her dad plenty of them growing up, but she finally gave up when she looked out into the audience at her high school graduation to see that he wasn't there. She had given Jake a second chance after college and now she was full of heartache and spite, tons of it. She had rediscovered why she had fallen for Jake in college and should have known it would end the same way here as it did then.

Calleigh supposed that what she got for having faith in people. She liked to believe that people changed, and sometimes they did and it would work out great. Other times, however, they didn't change and it would end in a disaster.

_**Maybe I was naïve**_

_**Got lost in your eyes**_

_**And never really had a chance**_

With the box under one arm and her car keys in hand, Calleigh made her way back towards her car. She put the box of materials in the passenger seat before walking over to the driver's side and buckling up. She put the car in reverse and pulled out onto the road, with that she made her way towards Jake's place. This would be the official goodbye. True, they would still see each other at work and would be forced to each other, but two professionals working is all they'd be. He obviously, in Calleigh's mind, didn't think she was above his job and she wasn't going to fight to win that place in his heart. She was only sorry she hadn't seen that sooner, maybe then she could have saved herself this regret.

_**My mistake**_

_**I didn't know**_

_**To be in love you had to fight to have the upper hand**_

She was getting close to Jake's street. She had hardly been there, they spent most of the time at her house, but she had the route to take memorized. It was the route she was now taking, possibly for the last time. Calleigh knew that this was for the best that it could be the last time, but saying goodbye was always hard, even if you had to and wanted to.

This was goodbye to a great guy, happy memories and possibilities of a future.

_**I had so many dreams about you and me**_

_**Happy endings **_

_**Well, now I know**_

She turned on his road and pulled up to his house. She saw something that she hadn't even thought about encountering. Looking back, it was stupid not to consider that he wouldn't be at work. She saw his car parked in the driveway, and worse, he was just stepping out of it and he saw her as she pulled up to the side of the street.

Jake had a look of shock and hesitation on his face. Calleigh remembered the look he had given her every time she would come up to a crime scene or when they would run into each other in the lab, that look was the complete opposite of what she was seeing now. When he saw her those times, he would smile his almost cocky smile that she couldn't help but smile back at. In fact, he had given her that smile a few times that day. There was something in that smile that made Calleigh feel good, she couldn't explain it, there was a lot about Jake that she couldn't explain, but it always seemed to make her day for some reason.

But she knew she would never feel the same, at least not from him, again.

_**I'm not a princess**_

_**This ain't a fairytale **_

_**I'm not the one you'll sweep off her feet**_

_**Lead her up the stairwell**_

He began to make his way towards her car, she knew it was time to make her move. She clicked the button to retract the seatbelt from around her and climbed out to step onto the street. This was the time when they both had to accept that what they had was nothing more than a doomed relationship and what they might have had was nothing but a pipe dream. And nothing that either of them did was ever going to change that.

_**This ain't Hollywood, this is a small town**_

_**I was a dreamer before you went **_

_**And let me down**_

Calleigh was certain that this was going to hurt more, seeing him and returning his stuff, but she wasn't hurting as bad as she expected. She felt like she was accomplishing something by getting this closure. The great thing Calleigh knew about herself, was that she had the uncanny ability to bounce back. A few moments of heartache, possible tears and anger and she was good as knew…almost. True, this would be another wound, but Calleigh was also a huge believer in whatever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.

_**Now it's too late for you and your white horse**_

_**To come around**_

Calleigh didn't look at him as she walked around to the passenger seat and pulled out the box. She kicked the door closed as she walked over to him. The hesitation had now evaporated from his face, instead confusion had taken its place, however, the shock still remained glued in place.

"It's probably best that you take this back," Calleigh said, coolly.

Calleigh saw a flash of something that slightly resembled pain in Jake's eyes as he took the box from her.

"Calleigh," he said, shaking his hand. "I-I wasn't saying it was a permanent separation…I thought we were just slowing down."

_**And there you are on your knees**_

_**Begging for forgiveness**_

_**Begging for me**_

Calleigh took deep breath and shook her head. Calleigh supposed she didn't have to say goodbye right now, but she knew, with every fiber in her body, that at the end of this road was nothing good.

"Jake, there is no slowing down with you," Calleigh sighed. "There is only stop and go with you, if your saying slow down its just a matter of time before cutting to the brake…I'm not just going to hold my head up and wait for that day."

They stood in silence as she pulled out his house key from her pocket; only just remembering it was there.

"I'm sorry, but…I think we both know this is for the best," she said with genuine kindness as she placed the key in the box.

Jake licked his lips and looked down at the contents of the box.

"You sure this isn't your way of breaking ties so you could give Delko a chance?" he asked, jealousy in his eyes.

Calleigh let that one slide, he obviously hadn't expected this and she knew this was his way of figuring things out.

"No," Calleigh answered, honestly. "This has nothing to with Eric, this is about you and me."

"He was the cause of this," Jake pointed out, his tone hard.

"It was an accident-."

"Why are you defending him?"

"Because he's my friend…and he didn't cause _this_," she gestured to the box in his arms. "He may have told Stetler, but we had to make the decisions about what we were going to do."

"So you choose this?" Jake raised an eyebrow.

"No, you did," Calleigh snapped, anger boiling from out of no where.

_**Just like I always wanted**_

_**But I'm so sorry**_

The two stood in silence.

"I'm sorry," Jake whispered, sincerity filling his voice.

"Me too, but that doesn't change anything," Calleigh sighed, she walked towards the drivers side of her car.

"I'll see you at work," he called over to her, obviously trying to keep things friendly.

Calleigh nodded and got in her car as another relationship ended, officially.

_**Cuz I'm not your princess**_

_**This ain't a fairytale**_

Jake was probably thinking she was going to run straight into Eric's arms now, but he was wrong. Calleigh had a few things to figure out. Besides, things at work and with her friends were too hectic to rush into another relationship right now. She knew Horatio was going through a rough time after finding his long lost son and she knew Ryan was having a tough time after getting fired. She needed to be a good friend right now and couldn't let her love life get in the way of comforting people she considered family.

One day, she may get back in the world to find another relationship and hopefully it would work out. But that day, she had the feeling, wouldn't be coming for sometime.

_**I'm gonna find someone someday**_

_**Who might actually treat me well**_

_**This is a big world**_

_**That was a small town**_

Calleigh put the car in gear and began to drive away from Jake's house, his eyes following her as she drove down the road. In her mirror she could see it in his troubled expression that he was slowly realizing that, no matter what he said or did, Calleigh's mind was made up. She had said her goodbyes and was never going back.

_**There in my rearview mirror disappearing now**_

_**And it's too late for you and your white horse**_

The reflection of Jake grew smaller and smaller as she drove further from his house and him. Calleigh looked up for a second to see if the curb was coming up before her eyes flashed back to the mirror…Jake was gone.

_**Now it's too late for you and your white horse**_

_**To catch me now**_

_Present day…2010_

Calleigh had been right about ending her relationship with Jake; in the long run it was better. With that thought, she looked at her left hand and smiled at the ring she saw. Defiantly better.

Jake had asked her to wait before he left over a year ago, apparently he still saw hope for them. Calleigh, however, stuck to her guns. The decision she had made the day she returned his things had been final and even if it wasn't, her feelings for Eric were getting deeper and deeper, deeper than they ever had been for Jake.

* * *

I have two more chapters in mind that could be made into songfic's like this one. I'm not saying they're for flashbacks, but I could use them to tell part of the story (and they will be better than this one because of that). If you liked this one and wouldn't mind seeing two more like it, let me know and I'll consider doing it for the later chapters.

Please review!


	7. Unexpected Crossings

So I log on and go to my inbox, I see I have reviews (which I'm grateful for) and a message from a one **TurboWiz70**. She told me I had better update this soon or she'd "send Gollum after me," (apparently, according to her profile, she's a Lord of the Ring's fanatic…hey, that's cool).

I'd hate to have a freaky little gray dude on my back (lol) so I decided I'd better update. Much thanks to **TW70 **for giving me the kick in the butt to get motivated and this chap is dedicated to you. Seriously, people, give me a shove to get me writing any of my stories, I would appreciate it.

We'll see how it goes…

* * *

Chapter 7

Unexpected Crossings

Jake walked into the fingerprint lab where Delko was giving Tripp information on a hit they just got in AFIS.

"Print on the gun is a match to a Mitchell Harbors, in the system for B&E in oh-two," Eric said, reading the info off the computer.

"I'll pick him up," Tripp said, as he left he nodded at Jake. "Berkeley."

"Tripp," he nodded back.

The tension in the lab rose without Tripp as a mediator, but the two tried to ignore it.

"This for the body on the beach?" Jake asked.

"Yeah," Delko nodded. "Her name was Maria Hanson, took a bullet to the neck, it spilt the jugular vein…the only evidence we found was the print from Harbors, so this case is pretty much closed."

"Great," Jake said, unenthusiastically.

The heaviness of the room could be felt, they were sure, by all of Miami (possibly Florida). They continued to attempt to ignore it, but attempting can only go so far. There were too many unspoken words between the two men who had fallen head-over-heels for the same woman, a few of those words couldn't help but break free.

"How was Key West?" Jake asked, a bit smug, quoting back Delko's infamous "How was Antigua?" line. Jake knew taking this route was a bit juvenile, but his jealousy had got the best of him and the words escaped before he had the chance to stop them, not that he would have. In all honesty, this would be the highlight of his day.

_This is fair, _Jake attempted to rationalize his behavior in his mind. _He wasn't exactly subtle with his feelings when…_ Jake stopped himself there; he didn't want to get _that_ in his mind, again.

Delko seemed to know exactly what Jake was doing, using his own words against him.

Delko laughed, no humor present in his voice, and halfway glared at Jake.

"So this is how it's going to be?" Delko questioned. "You're always going to be throwing whatever I said back in my face?"

"I'm an ATF agent, what can I say, fighting fire with fire is the only way I know how to live."

"I'm sure it's a great life," Delko said, sarcastically.

"You should know," Jake sneered.

"And what do you mean by that?"

"We've switched positions here, man," Jake shrugged. "Not too long ago, you were in my shoes. The only difference is, Stetler has never been on my side. But you, hey, you managed to actually get the big man on your side. So, I don't have anyone to rat to."

Jake could see the anger flare inside Delko's eyes.

"For the millionth time-."

"Yeah, we know," Jake interrupted him. "It was an accident…but now that you've gotten what you wanted, I guess you don't regret making that decision anymore."

Jake could tell he sure was pressing some buttons as Delko's nostril's flared and he glared at Jake.

"I'm sorry for what I did, but I wouldn't change it if I could…not now."

"Thought so," Jake scoffed, Jake then saw Delko's grip tighten on the table in anger.

* * *

Jesse walked towards the finger print lab to inform his colleague about some newly found evidence, but as he approached the lab he didn't just see Delko, but Berkeley as well and they were both glaring at each other. Their nostrils were flared, they had harsh demeanors and, based on the way their lips were moving, they were exchanging some less than friendly words. This may have been just his perspective, but Jesse thought the two of them were just one unfriendly word away from throwing a punch.

He continued towards the lab and thought it'd be best to end this fight before it started. Granted, Jesse wasn't sure if it would come to that, he didn't know these two that well, but he wasn't willing to find out. He knocked on the glass door as he stepped in, making his presence known and both of them look up.

"Hey, Calleigh just called Horatio," Jesse wanted to kick himself for bringing up Calleigh, but he needed to report the evidence. "She got a hit in IBIS, the gun belongs to a Mitchell Harbors."

"His prints were found on the gun, makes him a slam dunk for murder," Delko said.

"Well, means there's no longer a reason for me to stay in here," Berkeley sneered.

With that, Berkeley left the room. Jesse watched him as he left, his anger seen by Jesse plain as day. Jesse turned back to Delko, who still had the same enraged look on his face, shaking his head in slight disbelief.

Jesse raised his eyebrows, questionably.

"Don't ask," Delko said to Jesse, seriously.

"Not a word," Jesse held his hands up in surrender.

* * *

Calleigh caught up to Frank in time to go pick up Mitchell Harbors from his house in the Gables. Frank was behind the wheel as they pulled away from PD and onto the road.

"Delko said that this guy was arrested from B&E?" Frank asked.

"That's the record. The only question is, what made him escalate from that to murder," Calleigh said as the GPS gave them directions.

"I hate that thing," Frank growled. "I know my way around Florida."

Calleigh chuckled.

"Only you will hold a grudge against a GPS, Frank," Calleigh smiled.

"I believe in keeping things simple," Frank shrugged. "So…um, you enjoying your first day back?" Frank asked, his tone changing.

There was something about the way Frank asked her that and Calleigh wasn't too sure she liked it. The uncertainty in his voice was not like Frank at all, especially while talking to her. Frank and Calleigh had always gotten along well, so why did he have this tone all of a sudden?

"Yeah," Calleigh nodded. _With one exception, _she added in her mind. "Thanks."

They rode in silence for a few minutes, the only sounds coming from traffic. Calleigh saw the look on Frank's face, it appeared to be as though he was trying to word something in his mind.

"Berkeley seems to be…um…not too happy with…"

"My God," she sighed exasperated. "Not you, too. I thought you made a key point to stay _out _of the drama."

"I do, but…"

"But what? You were never interested in any of the relationship problems before, which I greatly appreciated, might I add."

"Sorry, but every time Jake gets in the picture things get…hinky," Frank said, using one of his favorite terms.

"Yeah, in my life, not for your life or the teams…and since when did my personal life become such an interest for you and everyone else anyway?" Calleigh asked.

"Everyone else has been talking?" Frank asked.

"Don't change the subject, Frank," Calleigh said, getting annoyed that her private life was no longer private. The fact of the matter was Natalia, Ryan and Jesse had all been giving her and Eric questioning looks all day, especially when the conversation turned to Jake or if he walked by. Calleigh had been looking forward to driving with someone all drama seemed to avoid, but that backfired on her quickly.

"It's not that we want to enjoy the drama, we're just…concerned now that Berkeley is back." Frank explained.

"Why? Why do you guys need to be concerned?" Calleigh demanded, getting more and more aggravated.

"Someone always gets hurt when he comes here," Frank said, this was probably the most personal Calleigh had ever heard him talked, she wasn't too sure she liked this side of Frank, not when it was pertaining to her, anyway. "Either he gets hurt, then you get hurt. Or you get hurt, then Delko and Jake get hurt, or-

"How much about this mess do you know, Frank?" Calleigh interrupted.

"I don't intentionally snoop, I see and hear things and, believe me, sometimes I wish I didn't see or hear them…my point is, I don't trust Berkeley-."

"And your afraid he's going to do something to hurt me or Eric?" she guessed.

"Or your marriage, everyone has been thinking the same thing."

"Everyone can butt out…besides, nothing can come between our marriage."

"That's one cliched answer, Calleigh," Frank pointed out.

"Well, maybe cliches don't always have to be a bad thing," Calleigh snapped. "There's the suspects house," she nodded in its direction.

Frank parked and they climbed out. Calleigh hid her anger as she and Frank approached the house.

Frank banged on the door.

"Mitchell Harbors, Miami Dade PD!" he called.

They would give him a few seconds to get the door; a few seconds Frank would take advantage of.

"Just watch your back," Frank warned.

Calleigh gave him a look, something she rarely gave him. She sincerely hoped that this would be the first and last time she and Frank would have this discussion.

"I'll be fine," she promised, then she pulled out her gun. "Can you get the door?"

* * *

"Let me ask you something," Jake said, randomly, to Natalia as he walked into the AV lab. "How did they get to do this…I mean, what happened to IAB's rules for fraternization among officers?"

"Anything on your mind, Jake?" she asked, with mild sarcasm, eyes not moving from the video footage she was watching.

"What about Stetler, isn't he normally all over everything that happens in this lab?" Jake asked, acting as though he didn't hear Natalia's comment.

But Natalia did turn to him when Stetler's name came up.

"Stetler as in Rick Stetler?" Natalia asked.

"That is the only Stetler I am aware of," Jake nodded.

"He's doing time," Natalia said, a light smile gracing her lips.

"Time? As in he got cuffed, read the Miranda and now in an orange jumpsuit, kind of time?"

Natalia nodded as she rewound the piece of video footage she was watching.

"Why?" Jake asked, shocked at the news. True, he had never been on great terms with Stetler, but its not everyday an IAB agent is thrown into prison.

"Long story."

"Make it short."

Natalia gave him a look, it wasn't like she was busy or anything. She let out an exasperated sigh and started talking.

"He has been, as it turns out, stealing evidence for years. Cars, drugs, the works. But, when A.S.A got close to finding out he was the perpetrator, he made somebody plant a car bomb-."

"Was anyone hurt?" Jake asked, slightly worried.

Natalia turned to him, her face sad.

"Remember Rebecca Nevins?" she asked, sadly.

Jake nodded.

Natalia gave him a mourning look and shook her head. Jake felt as though the wind had been knocked out of him.

"He had her killed?" Jake asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah," Natalia nodded. "Almost killed Eric too, but, thankfully, he wasn't that close when the bomb went off."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up a second. Why did he almost kill Delko?"

"He was with the State Attorney at the time and was helping Rebecca with the investigation," she shrugged one shoulder.

"But now he's back here?" Jake asked.

"Well, not long after Stetler's conviction, Walter went back to nights and Eric discovered this was the only place he was truly happy," Natalia said, as she attempted to pay attention to the clip she was constantly replaying, her patients with Jake getting slimmer and slimmer.

"So let me get this straight. Delko and Nevins are on this investigation to find stolen evidence, Stetler thinks they're getting too close to catching them, he tries to blow them up, but only gets Nevins. You guys bust him and Delko then comes back. And since there is no Stetler the two decide it's a perfect opportunity to tie the knot," Jake blurted out the ending bitterly. _Very sneaky, _Jake added in his mind.

Natalia knew by 'the two' he was referring to Eric and Calleigh.

"It wasn't exactly a scheme to get married the second Stetler was gone, Jake," Natalia scoffed, almost as though she heard what Jake was thinking. "They just decided it was time they did…tie the knot."

"I'm just saying its convenient timing," Jake sneered.

Natalia rolled her eyes.

"Think what you want, but I know he would have proposed to her either way."

Jake knew she was right, he might as well admit it, he could see before he left Delko cared about Calleigh enough. Still, the image of Delko getting down on one knee to propose to her made his stomach turn.

"Natalia, get anything on the tapes?" Wolfe asked as he walked up to them.

"Working on it," she replied.

"This for the Hanson case?" Jake asked, not remembering any video footage being mentioned for that case before.

"No, this is a case we got a few weeks ago and we only just got a warrant for this footage," Wolfe explained.

Jake nodded, only partly interested.

"We talk to Harbors yet?" Natalia asked.

"Yes, we have," Jesse answered, walking up to them and standing next to Jake. "He confessed to murdering Maria Hanson."

"He say why?" Wolfe asked.

"Yeah, apparently, there was a whole ordeal with her breaking up with him to go out with his brother and…well, you know what came after that," Jesse shrugged.

"Unfortunately," Wolfe sighed. "Natalia, what was the time at this point?"

Wolfe and Natalia started looking over the footage, Natalia now paying closer attention than she had been while talking to Jake.

"Cooled down yet, Berkeley?" Jesse asked, casually.

Clearly, Jesse remembered Jake and Delko's discussion from earlier. Jake smirked in response to his question, hoping Jesse would leave it at that. He also hoped that Wolfe and Jesse would leave, he had a few more questions for Natalia. He wanted answers; he was possessed by his need to know what had happened in his absence. Things still weren't connecting, if Delko had quit, why was he back here? What happened after last year when Calleigh shot at him? And Jake knew it wasn't going to be easy getting Natalia to talk, but he had no choice. Wolfe would never let him live it down, there was no point in asking Horatio, Tripp wouldn't give him the time of day and he didn't know Jesse well enough to even start talking personally. Come to think of it, the only one at CSI he _did _know that well was Calleigh. But there was no chance in hell she or Delko would tell him anything (nor did he want to hear it from them), leaving him with only one person he could maybe get an answer out of…Natalia.

"Can you enhance whoever is standing over her?" Wolfe asked her.

Natalia nodded and enhanced the grainy picture of a man standing over a dead girl's corpse. Jake didn't recognize the man, even when the image became clear, but Wolfe and Natalia seemed to.

"That's her brother-in-law," Wolfe said to Natalia.

"I knew there was something weird about that guy when we questioned him," Natalia shook her head.

"I'll grab someone and go pick him up," Ryan volunteered.

"Okay, I'll start getting all the evidence together," Natalia said as the two of them went their separate ways.

"Would you excuse me?" Jake said to Jesse, but began to catch up to Natalia before getting a response. "Natalia," he called, catching up to her.

"What now?" she sighed, frustrated.

"I just have one quick question," he promised.

"Make it fast, some of us have better things to do than bug co-workers."

He ignored her jab and asked one of his many questions.

"If Delko was working with the State Attorney's office, why is he back at CSI?"

"Why don't you ask someone else to give you dirt?"

"Because anyone else will give me crap about asking-."

"And what makes you think I won't?"

"Because you and I are in the same boat."

Natalia stopped dead in her tracks, put her hands on her hips and turned towards him.

"We are _not _on the same boat," she said, icily.

"Come on," Jake rolled his eyes. "You used to date Delko."

"_Used _to, besides I don't think 'date' is the appropriate word," she added. "Listen, I was a witness at their wedding, would I have gone if I had a little green monster on my back?"

"So, you're telling me that you're happy about this?" Jake asked in disbelief. He would have thought if anyone would share his feelings about this, just a bit, it would potentially be Natalia.

"If by 'this' you mean their marriage, than yes," Natalia said, matter-of-factly.

"How can you stand to see your ex with your friend?" he asked, he was starting to get way more personal than intended.

"Because you're jealous, I'm not," Natalia laughed, dryly. "Besides, I didn't think you considered Eric a friend."

"We aren't talking about me…and I'm not jealous," he lied, pathetically.

"Right, you just leave for over a year and come back to see your ex-girlfriend married to the man you blame for breaking you two up. You are obviously thrilled and want to be happy for them," Natalia said, sarcastically.

Jake was at a loss for words, something that was just as rare as Haley's Comet's appearance.

"Jake," she softened her tone. "I know it must be awful for you, but they are happy. Don't go and screw it up for them."

"I wouldn't do that," Jake snapped. Contrary to popular belief, Jake wasn't heartless. He was happy for Calleigh, she deserved to have someone who cared about her, but did it really have to be Delko? He may not have liked the fact that she and him were now married, but he'd never do anything to sabotage her happiness like that.

"I believe you," Natalia nodded.

With that, Natalia walked away, never answering his original question.

* * *

To clear this up, the diamonds and Jake thing from "Meltdown" never happened in this fic and I did originally have another idea for how Cal and Eric were able to get passed Stetler, but I liked this one better.

I'm not sure how well I explained the Stetler thing in this chapter, so if you are confused or have questions, PM me and I'll try to clear it up. If more than one person is confused about the same thing, I'll fix it in the next chapter.

Sorry for the confusion, but Stetler leaving was just too good to leave out.

On a lighter note, CBS did NOT renew Eddie Cibrian's contract for next season! Cardoza is leaving! Will he die or will he stay for a few episodes next season? That I'm not sure of, but Cardoza is GONE!


	8. Puzzling Hearts

Incase you didn't notice, I changed this from a Jake/Calleigh fic to just a Calleigh. B/c, I re-read it and thought about where I'm going with this. This isn't really a CaKe fic, but it's not a HipHuggers fic either. There is a very fine line between which relationship this is about, sometimes E/C others J/C. I just decided to go with the common denominator and title this as a Calleigh fic, though it's more of a Jake, Calleigh and Eric thing. That said and done, here's another chapter.

* * *

Chapter 8

Puzzling Hearts 

Calleigh didn't see why _she _was the one requested to drive to Jake's hotel and talk to him about this case one week later. Surely, there was another CSI just as capable and who didn't have _this _much tension with Jake. Every time they saw each other at work the atmosphere around them would become inept and almost to the point of unbearable.

One of the worst times had to be two days before when Eric and Calleigh had been walking side by side in the hall, discussing the case they had been working on and they had passed Jake in the hallway. Now that Calleigh thought it over, that was the first time all three of them had been in the same area at the same space in time since Eric and Calleigh had wed. Many of the other people, who Calleigh wished would mind their own business, probably had their own ideas how it would go. A few venomous looks, a few hostile words and Calleigh even heard whispers of someone throwing a punch, which was just hitting the brink of childish. Instead, the three paused in the middle of the hallway, Jake's eyes moving between the two before walking away. His eyes had been an icy blend of anger, hurt, betrayal and envy, but at the same time a subtle softness that could almost of represented happiness.

The moment had only lasted a second, but it was a drawn out second that seemed to last forever. Like while sitting at the top of a hill on a roller coaster and you're just waiting for that deadly drop that'll plummet you back to earth. You know it's only one second until that moment occurs, but you seem to be waiting anxiously for that moment for hours rather than a second; like how they had to wait for the stare Jake had on them to break so they could continue down the hall.

Calleigh pushed the less than joyful memory out of her mind as she made her way to Jake's room, having gotten his room number down at the front desk, and was now staring his room number in the face. The big gold letters of 502 daring her to make her presence known.

Calleigh was a bit tentative as she knocked on the door. She heard shuffling from the other side of the door. Then door opened and Jake stood before her, his expression now shocked as her.

"Hi," he said, slightly aghast.

"Hey," she smiled. "Sorry to just drop by on your day off…we tried calling."

"My phone is dead and my charger is broken, so…" he shrugged. "What's up?"

"I need your help with a case," she said, holding up the manila folder. It wasn't until after she spoke did she notice that she had said 'I need your help' instead of the more appropriate 'We need your help.'

"You wanna come in?" he asked.

Calleigh was a bit unsure of that, not wanting to possibly cause more unneeded drama.

_This is ridiculous, _she thought. _He knows my feelings and I know my feelings. This is just a normal consult, don't be a child about this._

"Sure," she nodded.

Jake stood aside to let her in. She smiled as she looked around the hotel room; in some ways, Jake's hotel room was just like the home she had spent so many nights in. She could pinpoint some of the identical settings that had been etched into her memory. For instance, how Jake had one of the curtains pulled halfway and the other open, his keys were next to the coffee pot, jacket on back of the chair and she could maybe find tons more if she looked longer. It wasn't like Jake was OCD like Ryan; the dirty dishes in the sink proved that. Ryan _needed _to have things the way his mind wanted as far as order and how things were arranged; Jake wasn't like that, Jake had simply fallen into routine, a routine Calleigh had grown to know too well and not forget.

"You want some coffee or anything?" Jake asked.

"No thanks," she shook her head, still smiling.

Jake saw her expression, the first genuine smile she had worn in his company in a long time. Though he didn't know the reason behind her smile, it still brought one to his own lips.

"What?" he asked, slightly confused.

"Haven't changed much, have you?" she grinned.

"Some of us don't," he shrugged.

She knew those words were meant to target her as an accusation. But she wasn't in the mood to get into another altercation with him, especially when she was here for work.

"Um…we found one of the Crypt Kings dead outside a bar downtown," Calleigh explained, handing him a picture of the dead man on the autopsy table. "I know you've been out of this game for awhile, but is there any chance you know him?"

Jake looked at the photo carefully and racked his brain.

"Yeah," he nodded. "That's Zeke Turels."

"You remember anything about him?"

"All I remember about him was that he loved to get drunk and ride bikes," he sighed.

"Just like all the others?"

"Exactly, but ATF has another agent in with them now. If you want me to I can call them up and have him meet up with you guys, discreetly, to give you some information," Jake offered.

"If you could do that, I'd…we'd really appreciate it," Calleigh nodded, catching her use of the pronouns she used this time.

"Okay, I'll be right back…make yourself at home," he said as he retreated back into his bedroom.

"Thanks," she smiled, though she continued to stand. She remembered that she told Horatio she'd call him once she talked to Jake. Calleigh pulled out her phone and dialed his number.

After two rings she heard, "What've we got, ma'am?"

"Jake knows the vic's name is Zeke Turels, but he doesn't remember much passed that. He's getting in touch with ATF now to see-," Calleigh happened to look down on his counter and saw, next to his laptop, was a little velvet box; an uneasy feeling filled the pit of her stomach.

"Calleigh?" Horatio asked, pulling her back to earth.

Calleigh moved her head side-to-side, in a sad attempt to clear her mind.

"To see if we could possibly meet with the new ATF agent in with the Kings, see if he knows anything," she continued, still staring at the box.

"Alright, tell him I said that we appreciate this."

"Will do, see you later," Calleigh nodded.

"Bye."

With that, the two disconnected and Calleigh continued to look at the mysterious box. Calleigh knew she shouldn't have been so perplexed by something smaller than a book, but her sixth sense had her mind running wild and she didn't like it.

Her curiosity got the better of her and she pulled the box over to her. She had a pretty good idea what was in the box before she opened it, but she prayed she was wrong. She looked to make sure she wasn't in Jake's sight before flipping the lid open.

Calleigh didn't need to be told this was meant for her, nor did she need to assume the possibility it was for someone else; she knew this diamond ring's purpose. She snapped the box closed and put it back by the laptop.

Calleigh didn't know when Jake had bought the ring or if he was ever going to tell her about it, but she did know that it was here in front of her and she couldn't quite wrap her head around it. Suddenly, the rings on her hand felt heavier, especially the engagement ring. The corners of her mouth turned up a bit as she remembered when Eric had slid the ring on her finger.

_Sundays were lazy, the perfect the amount of laziness depended on how crazy the week had been and the week they had made them want to stay in bed forever. They had been in and out of court, two mass murders in the course of five days and they had even been involved in a shooting while attempting to bring someone into custody. Needless to say, they embraced the few extra hours in bed with open arms._

_Calleigh stirred in Eric's arms as she was brought out of her dreams. She looked over at him and smiled to see he was already awake, his eyes on her; it was no mystery he had been watching her sleep._

_"Good morning," she whispered, her voice still tired._

_"Good morning," he smiled, before leaning down to gently put his lips to hers, she smiled as he kissed her and returned, her lips moving in harmony with his. When their lips parted, Eric held her tighter against his bare chest. However, he unsnaked one of his arms from around her for a few moments. She closed her eyes as his arm wrapped back around her and he kissed her temple. _

_"I love you," he whispered, one of his hands taking her left one, holding it so her fingers were uncurled._

_"I love you, too," she whispered back. _

_The thumb of the hand holding hers started to draw circles on the back of her hand. _

_"You read my file," he reminded her, softly._

_"You've known that," Calleigh pointed out, eyes still closed._

_"For over a year," Eric added, Calleigh opened her eyes as she felt his other hand slide something circular on her ring finger. "Now, I think it's time, I say it to you myself."_

_Calleigh saw the ring on her finger as he intertwined his fingers through hers and was at a loss for words._

_"Will you marry me?" he asked her, his words coated with the undeniable tone of love and devotion._

_Calleigh knew what she wanted to say, but her throat was so tight she couldn't get any words out. She turned to him, smiled, and simply nodded, but there was no hiding the utter happiness in her eyes. She looked at Eric as he pulled her closer, no longer seeing her boyfriend, though that had never been a good description for him, but her world, her future…her fiancée._

Calleigh was still shaking her head in disbelief at the fact there was an engagement ring in front of her; amazed that Jake could have actually been that serious when he said about them possibly getting married if he returned to Miami sooner. It was one thing to say it in Firearms, a statement that could have been fueled by spite, but seeing the physical evidence of true feelings opened up a whole new range of possibilities and emotions.

An assembly of emotions bombarded her mind. She felt angry with him for still having this in his possession, knowing she was a married woman, but she also felt touched as she thought about he cared about her enough to hold onto the ring, waiting in the wings. She felt guilty for telling him they could never be in such a harsh way, but part of her felt that her actions were justified because of how obnoxious he had been.

Each emotion contradicted the other and Calleigh didn't know how to handle it, seeing that ring had shifted all of the thoughts about Jake that she had been harboring recently. What would have happened if she and Jake had started a future together? When it came to Eric, they knew what they wanted in life and she was entirely happy with that. But what would of it have been like with Jake? She knew that she was approaching closed off dreams that she had not ventured into for the longest time and it could potentially be dangerous on her mind and this situation she was in, but she was already letting her mind take rein.

She knew life with Jake would be unpredictable. Sure, life with Eric was also unpredictable, but in a different way. Eric's unpredictable didn't involve up and leaving at the drop of a hat, nor did it include not being able to hear from him from months like it would have been with Jake. But passed the burdens of their jobs, she supposed they could have been happy together, they had been happy when they were just dating. Over time Jake may have been able to make her open up her heart to him and they have reached that stage where she didn't feel ashamed of crying in front of him, like she did with Eric now.

_Eric._

Calleigh closed her eyes and sighed in minor frustration. She couldn't believe what she was thinking. She was married, _happily _married, so why was she thinking about what it would have been like to someone else?

"Pull yourself together, Calleigh," she hissed at herself.

She heard the sound of shoes hitting the linoleum floor as Jake made his way back into the kitchen. She used all her willpower not to look at the ring again; still having trouble comprehending that it was truly there.

"So, they're going to get in contact with Horatio and then you'll just have to see how it plays out from there," Jake sighed.

Calleigh nodded.

"Great," she said, not wanting to rush out and make things obvious, but not wanting stay in this suite.

Calleigh thought she was doing a good job at hiding her anxiety, but Calleigh had forgotten how easily Jake read her. He could always catch her in any lie, knew when something was bothering her and even sometimes knew what she was thinking just by the look on her face.

"You alright?" Jake asked, taking a casual step towards her. However, that casual step was all but casual to Calleigh. There was still, give for take a few inches, a yard between the two of them, but it was still a bit too close to comfort for Calleigh.

"Um…yeah, I just have to get back to work," she half-lied, making her way toward the door.

"Okay," Jake said, a bit surprised by her sudden desire to escape the room, or was it him she was escaping. "I'll see you around," he said, only now he was talking to her back as she froze in the doorway.

Calleigh rolled her lips as that fact sunk in, knowing she _would _have to see him around.

"Yeah," she sighed, a bit sadly, before walking out, closing the door behind her. Calleigh regretted stepping foot in this hotel, she should have just made up some excuse about having to process evidence when Horatio had asked her come up. Had she really been so naïve to think that she could just come up and act like things were normal and uncomplicated?

* * *

Jake was confused by her suddenly wanting to rush out of there when seconds ago they had been getting along. What changed? He looked next to his laptop and saw it. He had been looking at the ring on and off all day and his mind quickly drew to the most practical decision, she had seen the ring.

"Idiot," Jake grumbled at himself.

He should have known she'd see it, he should have grabbed the box before she had the chance.

Jake sat on the stool at the counter, slamming the screen of the laptop closed and shoving it aside. He put his forehead against his fists and silently cussed himself out, each word passing his teeth in resentment. This was the classic tale of two steps forward and one step back. They had actually been talking, _civilly, _and now it was all screwed up.

Ever since Natalia made that comment about him screwing things up for the Delko's marriage, he had been desperate to get his point across to everyone, especially Calleigh, that messing things up wasn't his intention. He wasn't going to intentionally start up something to sabotage the two of them, though the thought had been very appealing at the courthouse, he wouldn't do that. But that didn't mean he wouldn't attempt to make her remember what they had, at least then it would be her choice and he wouldn't be forced to hurt her. But her seeing the ring was never in his plans and now Jake was certain that her lengths of avoiding him had just tripled.

He grabbed the tiny box and looked at the platinum band against the black it rested on, thinking about the contrast of how he had pictured Calleigh this ring the first time and how it had truly played out.

* * *

For the rest of the day, Calleigh's mind was running on autopilot as her mind was still consumed by the discovery in Jake's hotel room. She hadn't even fully realized she was at home chopping vegetables until she felt Eric's hands on her upper arms, squeezing one of them gently. Calleigh felt a smile come to her lips as Eric's touch made her bring her undivided attention back to earth and the fact she was with him.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

_Why did he have to ask me that? _Calleigh thought. She couldn't tell him about the ring, that could turn disastrous. Eric already had a jealous streak going with Jake, even though he constantly denied it, and she didn't want to give Eric another reason to be. And she certainly didn't want to give Jake another nerve to potentially hit on Eric. But at the same time, Calleigh didn't want to lie to Eric. They had learned long ago lies, especially between the two of them, were a recipe for disaster.

She weighed her options, only having a second to do it, before making the decision she thought was best.

"Yeah," she nodded, her voice not coming out as strongly as she would have like, therefore making it less believable.

Eric slid his hands down from her arms down her torso and continued until his hands rested on her hips, pulling her a bit closer to him. He gently put his lips to the pulse on her neck as he snaked his arms around her waist the rest of the way. Calleigh could feel herself wanting to tell the truth more and more as his hands and lips sent a ripple of warmth through her body.

"You know I know you better than that," Eric mumbled against her skin. "What's wrong?"

Calleigh resisted telling the loving voice the truth and thought of the quickest, most believable, statement possible. She put the knife down and turned in his arms so she could put her hands on his chest and slowly slid them around his neck.

"It's just been a long day," she sighed, the funny thing was, it wasn't a lie.

"You want to talk about it?" he asked, putting his forehead to hers.

Calleigh smiled a small smile and shook her head.

"No, I'm fine, honestly," she reassured him. "You know how it is, some cases just stress you out."

Eric wasn't sure if he completely believed her, this could have just been Calleigh not wanting to talk about something that was truly on her mind, but he knew if he forced her to talk she never would.

"Well, if you want, I have a few ideas of how to de-stress you," Eric smiled, toying with one of the buttons on the V-neck of her blouse.

Calleigh knew what he was doing and it was exactly what she needed, she needed to forget about Jake, the ring and all the drama, and she couldn't think of a better way to do that than becoming totally lost within her husband as they made love.

"Is that so?" Calleigh teased. "Didn't you want to eat?" she nodded towards the few vegetables that had been diced; though food was the furthest thing from her mind at that moment.

Apparently, Eric felt the same way as his lips began to gently caress hers and he slowly started to unbutton her blouse, Calleigh leaning slightly back on the counter, sliding her own hands down to his waist.

"It's not good to exercise on a full stomach," he pointed out, taking her now exposed torso in his hands, sending a warm shiver down her spine.

"Good point," she mumbled against his lips, wrapping her fingers around his belt loops and gently pulling him towards their bedroom.

* * *

Through the night of caresses, touches, kisses and groans of fulfilled desires, Calleigh felt two emotions: pleasure and guilt. The pleasure most of the night outranked the guilt, her body only sensual to his hands and lips as they handled her body. But as the night ended and Calleigh laid her head to Eric's chest, all she could think about was earlier that day and how she had considered how another life would have been like. How could she have even thought those thoughts? How could she have even considered that there was happiness passed this? Passed Eric?

Calleigh could feel Eric's hand still smoothing her hair down her back, only increasing the impression of how lucky she was and how guilty she was feeling; she knew it was a sad story when guilt was the demon to open her eyes to what she was lucky to have.


	9. In the Depths of Life

Okay is it just me or are all the CBS actors dropping like flies? I mean a few people from CSI: Las Vegas have left within the last three years (give or take), I've heard someone from Criminal Minds left, Eddie Cibrian is leaving Miami and now I just found out that Melina Kanakaredes isn't coming back for the next season of CSI: NY. Man, everybody's hitting the road! But then again, some are coming back (you know who I'm thinking about) so I can't complain too much.

Anyway, here's another chapter…it's actually longish.

* * *

Chapter 9

In the Depths of Life

Calleigh and Ryan got out of the Hummer three days after she discovered the ring in Jake's suite. They made their way towards the house that had turned crime scene earlier that morning with kits in hand.

"What do we know?" Calleigh asked Ryan as he held up the crime scene tape for the two to walk under.

"Horatio said that the victims boss came over when she didn't show up for work and found her dead," Ryan said.

"Did we get his statement?"

"H did," Ryan nodded as they walked into the living room where the corpse lay.

This crime scene was similar to others they had worked before, woman had been shot inside her home and blood surrounded her pale body. She was in a pool of the red blood due to the bullet wound she had sustained, as though that wasn't bad enough, she also had a bruise on her right cheek and scratches on her arms; both appeared fresh, maybe hours old.

"What's the name of our vic, Tom?" Ryan asked as they opened their kits.

"Thirty-two-year-old, Marcia Collins. She took quite a beating," Tom stated the obvious. "She was shot in the heart, she bled out in a matter of minutes."

"Was the bullet a through-and-through?" Calleigh asked, gloving up.

Tom rolled her over slightly to look at her left shoulder blade. Through her green tank top was a hollow in the skin and fabric where the bullet had ruptured.

"Got an exit wound," Tome reported, slowly rolling her on her back

"Okay, so there should be a bullet somewhere," Ryan nodded. "TOD?"

"I'd say between twelve or two this morning…I'll autopsy her," Tom said. "Let you know if I get anything more."

"Thanks, Tom," Calleigh smiled at him as his crew came in to bag the body and take her to the morgue.

"Did she have anybody living with her?" Calleigh asked Ryan.

"No," he said, putting his camera strap around his neck. "No kids, no husband, no cats," Ryan added as a joke.

"Meaning no witnesses," Calleigh sighed. "Yet."

Calleigh looked down at the side of the couch and saw a Florida driver's license. Calleigh placed an evidence marker, the scale they used and snapped the picture before picking it up with her gloved hand.

"This driver's license belongs to a Steven Foreman," Calleigh said, bagging the evidence. "I'll swing by his place."

"He's going to have one hell of a story, I bet," Ryan sighed.

"Don't they all?" Calleigh grinned.

Ryan chuckled and he happened to glance up to look out the window.

"Calleigh," Ryan said, warningly.

Confused, Calleigh stood up and looked in the direction of his eyes. Climbing out of another Hummer was Jake. She had already been feeling sick that morning and this just made it worse as Calleigh felt her stomach sink and her heart skip a beat at the same time, a strange combination. For the last three days, every time the conversation turned to Jake her mind would go back to that moment she saw the ring, bringing the numerous emotions she felt along with it.

She attempted to shake off those emotions and picked up her flashlight from her kit.

"We've got a bullet to search for," she changed the subject.

Ryan shrugged and began to search for the bullet hole. They made their way along the wall the bullet would have hit; the one Marcia's back had been to.

They heard the sound of footsteps approaching them and Calleigh made a point not to look up when Jake entered.

"You doing Frank's job today, Berkeley?" Ryan asked, turning to Jake for a second.

"He had to be in court, Homicide sent me over," Jake explained with a shrug.

"Fantastic," Calleigh mumbled under her breath, so low that neither of the boys could hear her.

She looked behind a vase on a nearby desk, still ignoring the new company, and sticking out of the drywall was a bullet, some dried blood on it's surface.

She turned off the flashlight and went back to her kit to grab the pliers.

"I found the bullet," she said, pulling it out and having a good look at the round. "It's a thirty-eight," she concluded.

"And here's the gun it went to," Ryan said, Calleigh turned to see Ryan pulling out the gun from one of the drawers on the desk. "Did anyone on the block notice anything?" Ryan now asked Jake.

"They said they heard something like a gunshot, but they figured it was just kids playing with firecrackers," Jake explained. "Apparently, they do that a lot in this neighborhood."

"Anyone see a casing?" Calleigh asked, wanting to wrap everything up here.

"I didn't see one," Ryan shook his head as they bagged the evidence. "Maybe the killer took it with him."

"So, he try's to hide the bullet with a vase and puts the murder weapon in the drawer, but picks up a casing?" Calleigh questioned the killer's sanity. "Let's get this back to the lab and then go meet Steven Foreman."

"Berkeley and I can drive this up to the lab and I can meet you up there later," Ryan suggested, giving her a meaningful look. Calleigh knew instantly what he was doing; he had sensed the tension and was attempting to get Jake and her apart. That's what Calleigh liked about Ryan, he liked making fun of her and Eric's marriage, and the relationship they had had before so, but he always had her back. She gave him a small smile.

"I can go with her," Jake offered.

Anyone could read the look in Jake's eyes; he obviously wanted to talk to Calleigh…alone. She had the horrible feeling that she knew what he wanted to talk about.

"I can talk to a suspect myself," Calleigh said.

"You really should have back up," Jake pointed out.

Calleigh looked between the two, Jake had a good point and Ryan, judging by the look on his face, thought he did too.

Calleigh had to face the sad fact that she was going to sometimes be forced to work with Jake and these awkward moments were just going to have to come with it. And, hopefully, Jake would lose interest one day, he would get rid of the ring and those times would fade. For now, she would have to live with it. But that didn't mean she had to be nice about it.

"Fine," she nodded. "But I'm driving."

* * *

"Can you be honest with me?" Jake asked her as she drove down the highway. "Did you see the ring?"

Calleigh pressed her lips in a hard line, not wanting to answer any questions that would open the floodgates to a thousand more questions.

"Cal?" he asked, determined to get an answer.

"Let's not do this now," Calleigh suggested, eyes on the road.

"Then when?" Jake demanded.

"I honestly don't see what the point in talking about all this is going to do, it's not going to change anything," Calleigh shrugged.

"You never know," Jake smirked. "I can be very persuasive…you know I can be. I got you to give me a second chance once before."

"You only get one second chance, Jake," Calleigh replied, icily.

"A third chance, then."

"Berkeley, I will not hesitate to pull this car over and throw you out," Calleigh snapped.

"You never answered my question? Did you see it?" Jake asked.

Calleigh went back to her hard lipped expression.

"I guess I know…did you tell Delko?" Jake asked.

Calleigh remained silent and continued to look through the windshield.

"Lying to him already?" Jake accused, regretting the words after they escaped him.

Calleigh's jaw dropped in disgust as she turned to glare at Jake for a moment before putting her eyes on the road.

"Nice," she spat. "That's really nice, Jake."

"Cal-," Jake sighed, hurriedly, trying to make amends for what he had just let slip.

"I don't want to hear it Jake!" Calleigh cut across him, grip on the steering wheel tightening.

"C'mon, Calleigh. You know that's not what I meant, it just…blurted out," Jake confessed.

"I saw that," Calleigh scoffed.

"Okay, I deserved that," Jake admitted. "I would be pissed to if I came back from my honeymoon and my ex started interrogating me."

"Well, I hope you never have that experience."

"I won't," Jake sighed. "Odds are I'm never getting married."

"Someday you'll find someone you love and marry her," Calleigh said.

"Not unless she divorces her husband," Jake sighed, looking out the windshield.

She clenched her teeth in annoyance as he spoke these words.

"Let me guess, that one just 'blurted out' too?" Calleigh snapped as she took a left.

Jake didn't say anything, not really knowing what to say. He wasn't certain if he wanted her to know that or not, but she did and he wasn't about to take it back.

Calleigh shook her head in disbelief as they pulled up to the address of Steven Foreman.

"Try not to run your mouth about my marriage while we question this suspect," Calleigh ordered as she climbed out of the Hummer.

"Yes, ma'am," Jake muttered as he got out himself.

They approached the house and Jake knocked on the door.

"Steven Foreman! Miami Dade PD!" he called out before looking at Calleigh. "You can't ignore me forever."

"I can for now," she said as they heard shuffling on the other side before the doorknob turned to reveal a man with black hair, around twenty-five years of age and had light scratches on his arms. Calleigh recognized him as the man she saw on the driver's license.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"You Steven Foreman?" Jake asked.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"I'm Detective Jake Berkeley, this is CSI Calleigh Duq-," Jake stopped himself, realizing he was about to introduce her by her maiden name. "Calleigh Delko," he sighed, her new name tasted like acid on his tongue.

"Did you know a Marcia Collins?" Calleigh asked Foreman, ignoring how Jake almost called her 'Duquesne.'

"What do you mean 'did'?" he asked.

"She was found dead this morning," Calleigh explained.

"W-what?"

"Yeah, and we have evidence suggesting you were there," Jake said.

"Yeah, well I wasn't," Foreman glared at Jake.

"Then where were you between twelve and two this morning, Mr. Foreman?" Calleigh asked.

"I was asleep, like most sane people," he stated.

"Can anyone confirm that?"

"No."

"Doesn't put you in a very good spot," Jake pointed out.

"C'mon, why would I kill her?" he asked.

"Why don't you tell us?" Calleigh turned the tables. "Were you ever at her house?"

"No, but she was over here yesterday at six," Foreman sighed, as though he didn't want to think about the interaction. "And no one can confirm that, either."

"Fine, we're going to need you to come with us," Calleigh said. She gestured for one of the patrolmen who had just pulled up in a MDPD cruiser to take Foreman.

* * *

"What did we get at the scene?" Eric asked Ryan as he walked out of the elevator with the evidence envelopes in hand.

"Florida driver's license, a fired bullet and the thirty-eight it came from," Ryan reeled off as they made their way into Fingerprints.

"Who does the driver's license belong to?" Eric asked, pulling on his lab coat.

"Steven Foreman, Calleigh and Berkeley went to his house to ask him a few questions," Ryan shrugged, trying to act like he thought it was no big deal, but he saw Eric's jaw tighten as he clenched his teeth in undeniable anger and the burning of jealous in his eyes.

"Really?" he attempted to sound indifferent, but the envy flooding through him was thicker than blood.

Eric had never really cared much for Jake when they first met, but he never really hated him. Jake had just been someone who was at the lab every now and then, Eric seldom paid him attention. Then he discovered the feelings for Calleigh that he had been concealing for years. It wasn't until after he was shot did he realize that he loved her, that he had _always _loved her, but he just never paid attention enough to notice. Only when he did, Jake had become more than just some ATF agent, he was the ATF agent who was seeing Calleigh. Eric thought he knew jealousy before, when it was from his passed relationships, like that whole deal with Natalia and Ryan when they attempted to date. But the moment he overheard Calleigh on the phone trying to make plans for a 'proper meal' with Jake, that's when he really met jealousy. The kind that caused his whole body to tense up in anger, his heart to sink with sadness and disappointment and his mind scream with all three. Ever since that day, he always disliked Jake almost to the point of hatred and more and more came with every time Jake was involved with something he instantly didn't like it.

_Eric had been more than a little standoffish with Calleigh ever since he saw Jake kiss her in the hall, not wanting the same look she gave him as she loaded the elevator to appear on her features again. But as she walked into the locker room as the day ended and she smiled at him, he couldn't help but at least grin back. Eric wanted to blame it on her sunny personality for why he smiled back, but the truth was that he couldn't help but feel the familiar sensation of warmth that rose in him every time he saw her. _

_"Hey," he greeted her._

"_Hi," Calleigh smiled as she opened her locker, only to have a pile of papers fall to her feet when she did. "Damn," she sighed as she bent down pick them up._

_Eric got down to help her pick up a few of the stray papers that flew out of her reach. He happened to pick up one that was a round-trip plane ticket to Antigua._

_"Going on vacation, Cal?" he smiled at her._

_"Um…yeah," she nodded, suddenly appearing awkward about it. " I've gotta catch a plane tomorrow morning."_

_"If anyone here deserves a vacation it's you," he said as they stood up._

_"Well, I don't know about that, but thanks," she smiled._

_They stood in silence for a few seconds, looking at each other until the point it was almost too silent._

_"You…might need these," Eric chuckled, realizing he still had a few papers and the plane ticket in hand._

_"Thanks," she nodded, taking them from him._

_"We'll miss you," Eric said, honestly. These days, a day away from her were almost unbearable for him._

_"Well, it's only for five days," she shrugged._

_Five days still seemed like a lifetime for him._

_"Jake will miss you, too," he sighed, knowing it was true._

_Calleigh bit her lip at the mention of Jake's name, her eyes saying all he needed to know. Eric realized that this wasn't just a vacation, it was more like a couple's retreat._

_"Oh," he nodded in understanding._

_He didn't take his eyes off Calleigh as she turned to pull her purse out of her locker. Once in hand she turned to Eric and grinned._

_"I'll see you next week," she said softly, so softly he almost didn't hear her as she turned away._

_"Yeah," he nodded._

_With that, she was gone. Gone to be with Jake._

_"Delko…?"_

_"Delko…?"_

"Delko?" Ryan's voice pulled Eric back to earth.

Eric looked up at him.

"Sorry. Did you say something?" he asked.

"I said, let me know when you're done printing the gun and license…and relax, pal," Ryan added with a laugh. "Calleigh's not going to let Berkeley try anything."

"I know that, Wolfe," Eric said, nothing but certainty in his voice.

"Okay, so…chill," Ryan said before walking out, Natalia making her way towards him.

"Hey," she greeted him, then she saw the expression on Eric's face through the glass wall. "What's up with him?"

"Calleigh and Jake went to pick up a suspect," Ryan sighed, knowing she'd catch on.

"Oh," Natalia nodded in understanding. "Well, I hope that the suspect they're picking up is Steven Foreman."

"It is, we found his driver's license at the scene. Why?"

"Tom found skin under the victim's nails. DNA was a match to Foreman, in the system for assault in the late nineties," Natalia explained.

"If they got into a fight, it would explain the scratches and bruise on her body," Ryan mused. "We just have to wait for Calleigh and Berkeley to bring him in and for the prints on the gun and we can catch a killer."

* * *

As the two drove through one of the rural parts of Miami, Calleigh wasn't sure if Jake had just run out of things to say or if he had decided to wise up, but he wasn't talking now and Calleigh was almost grateful. Her stomach was starting to churn and she was beginning to feel nauseous. Calleigh silently hoped that the nausea could at least stay at bay until she was back at PD, away from Jake.

Unfortunately for Calleigh, Jake was now noticing how pale her skin was, defiantly paler than she should have been, considering the fact she still had the light tan she had received in Key West.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, trying to remain indifferent about the situation.

Calleigh nodded, her lips pressed in a line and a light sheen of sweat starting to break across her forehead.

"No you're not," Jake shook his head, his concern now coming forth in his voice, seeing passed her attempts to lie.

"I'd feel better if you kept your mouth closed," Calleigh snapped.

"Someone's in a bad mood," Jake mumbled, but Calleigh still heard him.

"And why do you think that-?" Calleigh attempted to remark, but as vomit began to rise in her throat. Acting on instinct, she pulled the car over.

Jake watched as she rushed out of the car and into the dried grass on the side of the road. She hunched over began to release the contents of her stomach. Jake pulled the handle of his door and got out of the Hummer. He sprinted over to Calleigh, she had her hands on her knees in an attempt supported herself. Jake heard her intakes of air as she tried to get some clean air into her lungs.

"You okay?" Jake asked, a bit worried, as he placed his hand on her back.

Calleigh cleared her throat and nodded, ignoring the fact she and Jake were in physical contact.

_So much for roughing this, _Calleigh thought, thinking she would be able to handle her stomach, even though she had been this way since earlier that morning. Calleigh looked up at her eyes met Jake's; his brown orbs were full of concern, but not to the point of over protectiveness like Eric's eyes would have been. Their gaze held for a mater of seconds, but it felt a hundred times longer. The tension melted into nothing less than intense gravity pulling their gaze closer until their faces were only inches apart. Calleigh could feel his breath against her cheeks and mouth; Jake's taste crept through her lips and onto her tongue, something she hadn't experienced in over a year.

Only when his taste came into the forefront did the other sense of him became recognized, his touch. Calleigh realized his palm was still lying on the small of her back and that they were still close to each other. Calleigh made herself blink, cutting Jake off from her sight and turning her head to the ground so she was only looking at the grass, making a point not to look at the spewed out contents of her last meal. Calleigh took a deep breath of clean air, ridding her mouth of Jake's taste.

Her mind cleared, she straightened up, stepping out of Jake's touch while doing so. Calleigh made her way back towards the Hummer, Jake catching up to her. She pulled on the handle to open the door, but Jake put his hand on the corner, stopping her.

"You aren't driving like this," Jake told her firmly.

"Like what? I'm fine," Calleigh insisted.

Jake gave her look, his way of telling her that he wasn't buying it.

"Seriously, I'm feeling better now," she said, and she wasn't lying.

"Just incase, let me drive."

"Why should I?" Calleigh asked.

"Because Calleigh, I plan on dying in my sleep or in the line of duty, not because my ex-girlfriend felt sick and accidentally crashed the car she was driving," Jake said, being a bit melodramatic about the situation.

"Then walk," Calleigh shrugged, giving the door an extra tug so it broke passed Jake's hold and opened. "And for the record, during work hours I'm your colleague, not your ex."

Without another word, Calleigh climbed into the vehicle.

* * *

"I didn't kill her!" Foreman protested to Natalia and Jake's claims as they questioned him in one of MDPD's interrogation rooms.

"So the fact your DNA was under her nails was just coincidence?" Natalia asked with mild sarcasm.

"Okay, okay. She came over to my house last night and we got into an argument. It turned…a bit physical," Foreman attempted to explain.

"What was the fight about?" Jake interrogated.

"Marcia is seeing this guy, James Washington, and he's a drunk. I tried to talk some sense into her and…she didn't take it to well," Foreman sighed, frustrated.

"And what about your license?"

"It was stolen two days ago, along with my-," Foreman halted his statement, about to say too much.

"With your what?" Natalia asked.

"He was about to say gun," Calleigh said walking into the room, Jake's eyes going instantly to her. "Weren't you Steven?"

Foreman didn't answer; he just nervously looked down at the table, an answer within itself.

"IBIS says the gun is registered to you and our colleague found your fingerprints all over it," Calleigh said, sliding a printout of the IBIS hit, the picture of his gun and his fingerprint beside it over to him. Jake knew Delko was working in Fingerprints and that Calleigh's reference to him as "colleague" was her way of trying to define her professionalism. But her term made Jake scoff, a bit too loudly. The female CSI's shot him a lethal look, both appearing highly annoyed.

Calleigh looked at the suspect.

"Did you report the burglary?" she asked.

"Yes, I filed it yesterday," Foreman defended himself.

"I'll check it out," Calleigh volunteered, shooting Jake a final glare before heading out. Jake's eyes followed her out, only partially aware that Natalia was telling the suspect he had to be held until the case was closed and that Foreman was now being escorted out by a patrolman. Jake had become too distracted by the fact Calleigh had violently turned towards the woman's restroom, her hand clamped over her mouth.

"Excuse me," Jake murmured to Natalia as he slid out of his chair and began to make his way out of the interrogation room, intending to stand outside the restroom until Calleigh immerged. There was just one problem…

"Berkeley," Jesse called from behind him, making Jake turn towards him. "What did Foreman say?"

"He claims that he didn't kill her and that his license was stolen along with his gun," Jake explained, a bit hurriedly.

"What about the skin under her nails?" he asked.

"According to him, last night she was at his house, talking about her boyfriend and things got out of control," Jake tried to talk as fast as possible, wanting to get to Calleigh.

"He say the boyfriend's name?" Jesse continued to question.

"James Washington. I'll run his name and pull his address," Jake volunteered, seeing it as an opportunity to escape.

"Let me know if you get anything...You okay?" Jesse asked, clearly noticing Jake's distress.

_Does this guy ever run out of questions? _Jake thought, frustrated.

"Fantastic," Jake said, sarcastically. "I'll see you around."

Jake turned around and began to make his way towards his original destination, shrugging off the look he knew Jesse was giving the back of his neck. He was halfway there when Calleigh came out, her face looking even paler than it had earlier that day. All Jake had to do was cross the hall and he would be by her side.

"Calleigh," Delko's voice came from down the hall. Delko sped up his pace a little so he was at Calleigh's side in a few strides. They seemed unaware that he was watching them from the other side of the hall, they were totally consumed by one another.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, his voice now so low Jake could barely hear them and mostly had to read his lips. Delko reached up and gently cupped his hands around her upper arms; their contact made Jake ball his hands into a fist.

Calleigh nodded, her eyes were a bit glassy, making her green eyes really stand out on her angelic face.

"Everyone is asking me that," she sighed. "I'm fine."

Delko gave her a look saying that he thought she was downplaying her sickness. Jake didn't want to admit it, but Delko was probably correct.

"Maybe you should go home," Delko suggested.

Calleigh rolled her eyes at the concerned look on his face and his idea.

"We both knew this was probably going to happen," Calleigh grinned a bit, her statement confused him slightly. "It's okay, this will go away in a few days…hopefully," she added her smile becoming a bit wider on her face. She reached up to place her hands on his forearms, which made Jake dig his nails into his palm.

"If you change your mind…"

"I'll let you know," Calleigh nodded.

They gave each other a meaningful look, as though they were having a conversation without words, before they dropped their hands; now they were all business.

"Get any prints from the driver's license?" Calleigh asked.

"I haven't had the chance yet," Delko sighed. "I was called down here as a consult on another case and had to put it on hold for a couple of minutes."

"Okay," Calleigh nodded. "Well, the suspect claims that…"

Jake walked away, knowing the two would only continue talking about the case. Besides, standing there listening to them would just prolong the torture and he wasn't opted to do that. Instead he made his way upstairs to run James Washington's name and see if he was in the system.

* * *

Maxine Valera was running DNA for a cold case that had come in and was waiting for CODIS to find a match. She looked up to see Jake walking in front of her DNA table. She had heard through the grapevine that Calleigh had been sick most of the morning and wondered if Jake knew if she was any different.

"Hey, is Calleigh any better?" Valera asked Jake as he passed.

Jake looked at her, his eyes becoming ferociously annoyed.

"Why are you asking me?" Jake snapped.

"Because your eyes have been following her since you came back here," Valera shrugged. "So what's up with her?"

"Nothing," Jake shook his head. "She's just been a bit sick this morning."

"Still? Poor thing," Valera sighed, looking down at her work.

"Still?" Jake asked, confused.

"Yeah, she's been sick for the last few days," Valera said.

"If she's that sick why is she here?" Jake wondered aloud.

"I don't know," Valera shrugged. "Maybe whatever she has isn't contagious and she feels like she could work."

"Maybe," Jake nodded before walking away.

Something wasn't right here, Jake could feel it and his suspicion was confirmed when he approached the break room that afternoon. Calleigh's voice resonated from within; he looked in to see her with her back to him and her phone to her ear.

"I need to reschedule that appointment I had set for Friday with Dr. Potter," Calleigh said into the mouth of her phone. "My name is Calleigh Delko, but my name may still be under Duquesne. D-U-Q-U-E-S-N-E." Calleigh paused to listen to the anonymous speaker on the other end. "I found out before got married so…okay, Monday is good…thank you, goodbye." With that Calleigh hung up her phone. Jake became a bit puzzled by the phone call. What appointment was she rescheduling? What did she find out before she was married? Calleigh began to turn towards him and Jake made his way inside the break room as she turned towards him, acting like he heard nothing and trying to block out all questions in his mind.

"Feeling better?" Jake asked, trying to keep things friendly.

"A bit. What's up?" she asked.

"Just came to tell you that Jesse and I are going to talk to Marcia's boyfriend and see if he knew anything," Jake explained.

"He was in the system?" Calleigh asked.

"No, but his phone number was in the victim's cell. We took the number, ran it-."

"I know how it works," Calleigh cut across him. "I've been here for almost thirteen years, remember?"

"Right…I'll see you around," he said, stepping back towards the doorway.

"Okay," Calleigh nodded, indifferently. "Don't forget to get his prints and DNA."

"Yes, ma'am," Jake smirked, giving her a mimic salute as he walked out, earning him a half-smile from Calleigh.

Jake walked toward the elevator, once again thinking about the phone call he had overheard. Things weren't adding up and his years in ATF had given him an instinct that made him know, within him, when something wasn't right. Delko and Calleigh's sudden marriage, Calleigh was sick, she had been sick a few days and now there was this mystery doctor's appointment?

Jake hit the button for the elevator, mind going over all the details, until the only logical answer hit him.

Jake felt his stomach drop as he drew the conclusion. How had he not seen it before?

Calleigh was pregnant with Delko's baby.

Suddenly, Jake saw a whole new picture being painted. Yes, maybe Calleigh was carrying Delko's child, something that he would have expected to happen when he was incognito and had even thought about every so often. Jake may have even felt a bit jealous, knowing that it might have been him who could have impregnated her. But there was another side to this.

The only way Calleigh could be pregnant now to the extent of having morning sickness is if she had gotten pregnant _before _she and Delko had wed. Her pregnancy may have led Delko to the 'noble thing' and Jake wouldn't put it passed him to do that. From Jake's perspective, Delko had always seemed like a stand up type of guy, the kind that would marry a woman if she had ended up pregnant with his child…and that's where Jake saw the opportunity. There was the possibility that Calleigh could have only married Delko because of her condition.

For the first time since Jake arrived in Miami he felt something positive…hope.

* * *

"Delko, you get to those prints on the license yet?" Jake asked as he walked into Fingerprints a few minutes later, but Jake wasn't totally interested with the fingerprints.

"Yeah, I found Steven Foreman's _and _prints that weren't his," Delko said. "Didn't get any hits in AFIS."

"Well, Marcia's boyfriend is getting printed right now so maybe we'll get lucky," Jake sighed.

"Maybe," Delko nodded, not looking at Jake.

Jake could clearly tell that his mere presence was annoying Delko, no matter how much he probably tried to ignore him. To Delko, Jake was probably that dark shadow that followed him around everywhere that could damage everything he and Calleigh had. But maybe it wouldn't be Jake who ruined it for them; maybe the marriage would self-destruct without Jake's effort if Jake's assumption was right.

"So," Jake eased into his own interrogation. "Heard Calleigh hasn't been feeling too well today."

"No," Delko said, simply. "No, she hasn't."

"Maybe she should have taken the day off," Jake shrugged. "Or maybe I should say _days. _I've heard she's been sick for a couple of them."

Delko let out a hollow laugh.

"Can you really see Calleigh taking a day off because she's sick?" Delko asked, a bit sarcastic.

Jake smiled to himself, inwardly; this conversation was going exactly where he wanted it.

"True," Jake nodded. "Besides it's probably best, especially for if she's this way for three months."

"I doubt she'll be sick for that long."

"You sure?" Jake asked, crossing his arms, wanting Delko to admit the truth. "I hear morning sickness normally lasts through the first trimester."

Delko looked up at Jake, evidently taken aback by the road this conversation had taken.

"That's three months, right?" Jake added, a bit smugly.

"Morning sickness?" Delko asked. "What are you talking about?"

Jake rolled his eyes, getting annoyed with this charade. Jake knew the truth and Delko was going to admit it to him, one way or another.

"I know what's going on, Delko," Jake said, harshly.

"Well then share it with the class Jake, because I don't know what the hell you are talking about," Delko snapped.

"It should be fairly obvious," Jake rolled his eyes. "I know that Calleigh's pregnant…and I know she got pregnant _before _you got married.

Delko scoffed and shook his head.

"You're crazy," Delko accused.

"I don't think so," Jake smirked.

"She's not pregnant, Jake," Delko said, simply.

"Well, maybe she just didn't tell you," Jake shrugged, this day getting better and better in his eyes.

"Yeah, that makes a lot of sense," Delko scoffed.

"I'm just saying," Jake shrugged. "She seems to enjoy hiding things from you." Jake added an extra dig, getting too caught up in the moment. Calleigh hadn't told Delko about the ring, maybe she didn't tell him about her pregnancy. Jake inwardly smirked at how his luck seemed to be changing and how their relationship didn't seem as healthy as he thought.

"And what do you mean by that?" Delko asked, heatedly.

"Guys, play nice," a woman warned in a joking tone. They looked up to see Paula in her uniform walking in, a fingerprint card in hand. "Eric, here are James Washington's prints."

"Thanks, Paula," Eric nodded, taking the card from her before she left.

Eric looked back over, about to say something to Jake. The only problem was Jake had exited through the other door in the lab and was walking away. He gritted his teeth in frustration; this was typical Jake Berkeley. Eric supposed that he had _some _good qualities that Calleigh saw enough to go out with Jake for a few months, but they must of eluded Eric because he had probably seen Jake in a good light once or twice, all in his work and never in his personality.

Eric knew that the fingerprints needed to be analyzed and he should have waited to worry about this, but this was a new level of personal that Jake had just reached and this was leading to what Eric knew would probably happen when Jake returned to Miami. From the second Calleigh told him of Jake's return did he know Jake would screw around and try to cause problems like this out of flares of jealousy and probably revenge as far as Eric went, but he didn't think Jake would do something like _this._

It wasn't that Eric and Calleigh didn't want to have kids, they did, but it was the fact that Jake was making all these assumptions about his and Calleigh's life. But was there the possibility that Jake knew something Eric didn't yet know? Maybe she hadn't told him, probably concerned since they had only been married a few weeks and were still living in his condo. Would that be enough to make Calleigh tell Jake and not him?

_Maybe she told Natalia or somebody and they told Jake, _Eric thought.

He sighed and shook his head; that was a ridiculous thought. The moment Calleigh found out something like this she would tell _him _first…right?

_Of course she would,_ Eric told himself, hardly.

This was just one big miscommunication or something; Eric was ninety percent sure of that as he got back to work, remembering to talk to Calleigh later, wanting to straighten this out.

* * *

"So James Washington's prints were on Foreman's license, why?" Calleigh asked as she and Eric looked at the print match.

"No clue, but I'll bet he'll tell us," Eric said before looking over at her, concerned. "You feeling okay?"

"I'm feeling the same as when you asked me last time and the time before that. And to save you the trouble for when you ask me five minutes from now, I'm fine," she smiled.

"Okay, fair enough, but…" Eric drifted off, not quite sure how he was going to approach this.

"But?" Calleigh urged him to continue.

"Are you sure this isn't something serious?" Eric asked.

Calleigh gave him a confused look, he hadn't been _this _worried about her nausea and vomiting since it started.

"Yeah," Calleigh said, slowly. "I'm sure."

"I'm just saying, you've been really sick the last few days and…I don't know, maybe it's something worse than-," Eric tried to explain, making this up as he went.

"Eric," Calleigh cut across him. "It's food poisoning, nothing more. What's gotten into you?" she asked.

Eric thought her question over. What _was _getting into him? If Calleigh were pregnant she'd have told him, no doubt in his mind about it.

"Nothing," Eric shook his head. "You know me, I just get worried."

"Yeah," Calleigh nodded, with a smile. "I know."

Since no one was looking in the direction, that they could see, she wrapped her arm around his waist and looked up at him.

"But it takes a lot more than some undercooked food to slow me down," she whispered.

"Of course, how had I missed that?" Eric sighed, kiddingly.

Calleigh chuckled.

"Now, if you'd excuse me, I'm going to go talk to our newest suspect," Calleigh smiled, unsnaking her arm from around Eric to make her way towards the door. "Frank's finally out of court so at least I won't have Jake on my case the rest of the day."

When she said Jake's name a signal went off in Eric's brain telling him to say something, incase Jake _did _see her later.

"One second," Eric said when she was halfway to the door. "There is something you should know."

"Okay, about what?" Calleigh asked.

"Jake."

Calleigh rolled her eyes and came back over to the table.

"This ought to be good," she sighed. "What did he do now?"

"Did you ask her yet, Delko?" Jake asked.

They looked up and saw Jake leaning against the doorframe, a smug look on his face. Eric glared at Jake and Calleigh looked between the two.

"Ask me about what?" Calleigh asked Eric.


	10. Pandora's Box

Sorry for the wait on this, especially because I left you with a cliffhanger at the end of the last chapter. While I'm thinking about it, because I always forget to say this while thanking the reviewers (btw: thanks), I want to thank the people who put this on favorite stories and alert, I appreciate you guys, too.

* * *

Chapter 10

Pandora's Box

The Fingerprint lab felt crowded, through only three people stood within its walls. Eric giving Jake a look of absolute wrath, but Jake stood by the door without a bit of fear despite the look he was receiving. Jake supposed most people would become unnerved to have Delko glaring at them in such a way, but Jake had been forced to learn to never show fear, despite the fact the person looking at you could possibly kill you. While in ATF and working undercover the second you faultier is the second you hope you have a good life insurance policy. The gangs and such they might assign you into have a joy of torturing the weak, so you have to learn to stand tall and hold until it becomes second nature…as it had become for Jake.

While Eric glared and Jake played tough-guy, Calleigh looked between the two. There was only one question in her mind and she wanted it answered: What was going on?

Eric had been about to tell her something before Jake's interruption. Calleigh had the awful feeling that whatever Eric had been about to tell her and what Jake was talking about was connected, if not the exact same thing.

"Eric, what's going on?" Calleigh asked, now having an uneasy feeling in her gut not brought on by food poisoning.

Eric looked at Calleigh and sighed, about to start talking. Unfortunately, Jake cut across Eric.

"I'll tell you what's going on, Calleigh," Jake said, darkly.

"Jake," Eric warned, his eyes burning with anger.

"It's not like she'll be able to keep it secret long," Jake sneered, taking a few step towards them.

"You've got this all wrong."

"Is that so?" Jake scoffed. "I thought CSIs were meant to follow the evidence."

Calleigh was getting tired of the two talking back and forth, with her standing in the middle, and acting as though she weren't there; meanwhile none of her questions were getting answered.

"Would someone please tell me what you are talking about?" Calleigh demanded, getting more and more frustrated.

"I know the truth," Jake declared.

"The truth about _what?_" Calleigh felt like she was asking the same question over and over but was getting no where.

"About your marriage," Jake shrugged, as though it were obvious.

Calleigh scoffed and looked at him amazed.

"Can't wait to hear where this is going," she said, crossing her arms.

"Jake is under-," Eric started to speak.

"I can speak for myself, thank you," Jake spat.

"Then talk or let me go. I've got a suspect," Calleigh urged.

"Fine. Calleigh, I know you're pregnant," Jake stated, voice rising due to the frustration of the situation.

Calleigh's jaw dropped in disbelief, but closed her mouth quickly and turned her look into a scowl. She tried to say something, but she couldn't get her mind in the right set to put two syllables together.

"I also know you were pregnant before you got married and that Mr. Noble here thought it would be best to marry you. Maybe then his Catholic conscience wouldn't bug him so much," Jake nodded, knowing that it would just set Delko off more.

Jake was right about that; Eric took a threatening automatic step towards Jake. Calleigh reached out to take his wrist and halting him, her eyes not leaving Jake.

"I'm not pregnant," Calleigh said, firmly.

"Calleigh, I'm not an idiot. You've been sick for days-."

"Because of food poisoning," Calleigh defended herself.

"Right," Jake rolled his eyes. "I heard your phone call."

"Phone call?" Calleigh and Eric asked in unison.

"On the phone with your doctor, rescheduling an appointment. You said you found out before you got married," Jake blurted out. "What else is there other than the fact you're…you know?"

"I was rescheduling an appointment with my Orthodontist. I found out that I had to get my wisdom teeth pulled," she explained.

Realization cast like a shadow across Jake's face.

"So your not…"

"No, I'm not," Calleigh said, matter-of-factly.

Jake felt as though the world had become clear, but at the same time it got all the more painful. There was no way around it; Delko had married Calleigh for the same reason Jake wished he could have. Delko wasn't her husband because they felt they had a moral responsibility of some kind, but simply because they were in love and hopelessly devoted to each other. The familiar sensation of venom flowing through his veins made Jake grit his teeth.

"And even I were, I don't see how it would be any of your business," Calleigh snapped. "What? You think that if we got married because I was pregnant that our marriage would crash and burn-."

"Your marriage is going to do that without my help, it already is," Jake sneered.

"Excuse me?" Calleigh asked, incredulously.

"You heard me. Come on, Delko, I know you doubted that she wasn't pregnant," Jake accused.

"Right," Calleigh laughed without humor, having trouble believing that Eric would even remotely trust anything Jake said.

But then Calleigh looked up at Eric, amazed that he hadn't said anything about Jake's comment. He was giving Jake a look as though Jake had crossed some invisible line, but there wasn't just anger in Eric's eyes; looking passed the rage on his face was him admitting that Jake was telling the truth.

Calleigh realized that she was still holding Eric's wrist, she let him go and folded her arms over her chest.

"Oh," Calleigh said, a bit surprised. Calleigh tried to hide the sudden pain while she spoke, but she felt something in her heart that was close betrayal. Suddenly, the third degree he had given her when she had first come into Fingerprints made perfect sense.

Eric felt it when Calleigh's fingers left his wrist and he turned to look at her. She had a look of disbelief and slight hurt on her face, making Eric instantly feel worse.

"Calleigh, I-," Eric attempted to apologize, only to be cut off by Jake.

"And Calleigh, you haven't exactly been honest with him," Jake smirked, throwing everything in their faces due to spite. "You remember the ring you found in my hotel, right?"

It amazed Calleigh how someone who she had once loved so much, someone she would have laid down her own life for in fact, could suddenly turn into someone she hoped would burn in the depths of hell.

"What ring?" Eric asked Calleigh.

Jake took this opportunity to step out of the lab, a very smug look on his face.

"Calleigh, what is he talking about?" Eric asked again.

"Nothing, really," Calleigh shrugged, her stubborn side coming out. She was still hurt about him believing that she was pregnant and that he didn't trust that she would have come straight to him if she had been.

Eric rolled his eyes.

"Well, why don't you just explain to me why you believed Jake when he told you that I was pregnant?" Calleigh demanded.

Eric was about to respond, but Calleigh's phone began to ring, stopping him before he began. Calleigh didn't take her eyes off Eric as she reached into her pocket to pull out her phone.

"Delko," she addressed herself to the person on the other side.

"Calleigh, where are you?" Frank's voice asked. "I have Washington and we're waiting for you in Interrogation."

"Sorry," Calleigh sighed. "I'll be right there."

Without another word, Calleigh hung up and slid the phone back into her pocket.

"We'll talk about this at home," Calleigh said.

"Fine," Eric shrugged, indifferently.

Calleigh gritted her teeth and held her tongue as she walked passed Eric and out of the lab.

* * *

"Sorry," Calleigh whispered an apology to Frank as she walked in. "Mr. Washington," Calleigh addressed the suspect sitting across the table from where the other two were sitting. "So, you seem really broken up about Marcia."

"Who?" Washington asked with a one armed shrug.

"Don't play dumb with us, kid," Frank shook his head.

"Marcia Collins," Calleigh stated, sliding over a picture of Marcia on Tom's table. "Your girlfriend?"

Washington looked at the picture, pushed it away and leaned back in his chair.

"Don't know," he shrugged, again.

No matter how many interrogations she was apart of or how many people she talked to, Calleigh could still never comprehend how someone could look upon what they did to another human being and keep a bond of silence.

"Funny, then tell us why a driver's license had your prints over it next to her corpse," Frank said, crossing his arms.

Washington had been cornered and he didn't appreciate it.

"I have the right to remain silent," he stated.

"You do," Calleigh nodded in agreement. "Just answer one question for me. Why aren't your prints on the gun, but all over the license?"

Washington didn't say anything, just glared at the two.

"Okay, let me ask you this," Calleigh sighed. "What made you do it? Was it that you saw her with a male friend last night instead of you? You thought you'd kill two birds with one stone by framing one and kill the other-?"

"I didn't steal Foreman's gun or his freakin' license!" Washington almost shouted in response.

Calleigh and Frank exchanged a satisfied smirk; Washington had crawled right into their trap.

"Here's the fun part," Frank said, leaning across the table to glare at Washington. "She never said anything about the gun or the license belonging to Foreman."

Washington looked aghast and angered, his face slowly turning purple with rage and his skin pulling tightly over his knuckles as he made a fist.

"Turn out your pockets," Calleigh ordered, but Washington didn't move. "Now."

Washington stood up and pulled out the contents of his pockets as Calleigh pulled out the kit from beneath the table, sliding on some gloves. In front of Washington sat his wallet, keys, four pennies, a latex glove, and a thirty-eight casing.

Calleigh pulled the glove over towards her and tested it for GSR; she wasn't surprised that it came out positive.

"So you wore this while firing the gun, but not while you placed the license," Calleigh stated. "Here's what I think happened. You knew Foreman was warning Marcia about how dangerous you are…you snapped. We have a report of a break-in at Steven Foreman's house, in which his driver's license and gun were stolen. Then you saw that Marcia had bruises and scratches on her and that just made your job easier. You shot her, while wearing the glove. You hide the gun, took off your glove and picked up the casing. The problem is, you weren't thinking clearly. That's why we solve so many murders, killing someone tends to make you panic, do you know what happens then?" she asked.

Washington dropped his eyes so he wasn't forced to look at either of them.

"James, what happens is that people panic and screw up someway. In your case, you took the glove off before planting the license," Calleigh explained, putting her hands on her hips.

Washington licked his lips, suddenly uncomfortable. Funny how just being found guilty for murder could change somebody's tune.

"I want my lawyer," he stated.

"I hope, for your sake, he's good," Calleigh scoffed.

"Get him out of here," Frank said to the patrolman nearby.

The two watched as he was cuffed and escorted out of their presence.

"You know that if his lawyer convinces the jury that there is a good chance he'll get away with it," Frank pointed out.

"I know," Calleigh sighed. "But in the end the evidence will speak for itself."

"Always does," Frank nodded.

Calleigh chuckled in agreement.

* * *

When the CSIs have to go to court or talk to suspects, their wit and stubbornness could be a great asset in their arsenal. But being witty and stubborn wasn't a learned trait, however one they had been born with and wasn't something they forgot just because they stepped out of court or because they just put someone in cuffs. Meaning they used it on each other when they felt they had been wronged or were trying to prove a point. This was precisely why, later that night, Eric and Calleigh were standing in their bedroom at a fair distance apart and neither of them was backing down.

"When Jake said ring, did he mean engagement ring?" Eric asked, temper obviously flaring. He wasn't sure what he was most angered by, the fact that Jake had a ring of any sorts intended for Calleigh, or that Calleigh had known about it, but had kept it secret.

"Yes," Calleigh answered, curtly.

"And you didn't feel the need to say anything?" Eric questioned her morals.

"I wanted to," Calleigh snapped.

"So why didn't you? When did you even go to his hotel?"

"I was the one sent to see him on his day off for a case involving the Crypt Kings, remember? I saw the ring while he was making a call," Calleigh explained. "I wanted to say something but I didn't because I knew you'd overreact."

"Now why would I do that?" Eric asked, sarcastically.

"See what I mean? Here I am, married to _you. _Prepared to spend the rest of my life with _you _and you are still jealous of Jake," Calleigh accused.

"I'm not jealous," Eric protested.

Calleigh let out a hollow laugh.

"That's rich, Eric. You don't think I've noticed how you act every time we see Jake, even if we are just talking about him due to work? I mean, when Jake and I were together I dealt with it, but _now?_"

"He still loves you," Eric stated.

"I'm waiting for the point," Calleigh shrugged. "I'm sure there are a few women out there who still had feelings for you but you didn't."

"Name one," Eric dared.

"Want them alphabetically or in order in which they occurred?" Calleigh asked, icily. "I'm just saying that you have no reason to be angry or jealous or whatever about this."

"I'm not jealous," Eric insisted, once again. "But what sane husband wouldn't be the slightest bit annoyed to find out his wife's ex-boyfriend bought her an engagement ring?"

Calleigh rolled her lips, telling Eric that he had got his point across and that she could honestly say that he had been right. But Calleigh was too stubborn, some may even say too hardheaded, to fully admit that she was wrong until she got her own point across.

"Okay, maybe I should have told you," Calleigh admitted. "But you were the one who believed Jake."

"I didn't fully-."

"Fully? 'Calleigh, you sure this isn't something more serious than food poisoning?'" she quoted. I'm pretty sure you bought it. For the love of God, Eric, if I was pregnant don't you think I'd tell you first? Do you think I'd hide it from you? Why would I do that?"

The tables had turned and now Eric was the one who had been rendered speechless.

Eric had his arms crossed and Calleigh had her hands on her hips, both looking at each other; they weren't giving one another an angered look, but they weren't smiling nor had any other trace of cheerfulness on their faces.

They stood there a few minutes, maybe even a few seconds; time seemed to blur as they stood there. But Calleigh sighed as she dropped her gaze to the floor, shaking her head slightly. She ran her hand through her hair as she attempted to think through this whole situation.

Calleigh supposed they had the right to be annoyed and maybe even a bit hurt about what the other had done. Calleigh knew she should have told Eric about the ring the second she had the chance and she knew that Eric thought he shouldn't have trusted Jake to tell him something as major or important as a pregnancy, but they didn't need to be dragging it out like this.

"What are we doing?" Calleigh asked, looking up at Eric. "This is what he wants, this is why he told us these things."

Her saying that statement automatically turned the bickering two onto the same page. Eric softened his expression and uncrossed his arms as they made the same realization.

Yes, they had made mistakes, that was undeniable. However, Jake had been the one to set the ball rolling; odds were Eric and Calleigh would have told one another the truth in their own time, instead the truth came out in the most unpleasant of ways and caused them an argument beyond the proportions it needed to be.

Calleigh wanted to believe that beneath it all Jake was still the man she had known for years, she wanted to believe that all of his words today had come out in rage and jealousy. Calleigh wanted to see the best in Jake, like how she tried to find the best in most people, and hope that he didn't set out to ruin what she and Eric had like everyone assumed. But this was just too personal, bone deep, and almost to the point of unforgivable.

If this wasn't a trap set up by Jake, they didn't need to feel as though it were. If this was a trap, they just had to crawl out of it…together.

Eric took the first step towards Calleigh, she mirroring his movements until they met in the middle in a few simple strides. She rested her hands on his hips, he resting his on her upper arms; Calleigh couldn't help but grin at how familiar this scene was.

"I'm sorry," Eric whispered, looking down at her and holding her gaze.

"So am I," Calleigh nodded.

* * *

Calleigh walked into Firearms the next morning, her food poisoning had finally subsided for the most part and, despite yesterdays unpleasant discussions, she was in higher spirits, Well, she was until she saw what was on the table in the lab.

There sat a box with a big red bow on the side with a small card sat next to it. The closer Calleigh got she recognized what this gift was, even though she hadn't really thought about it in years.

_She and Jake walked into Jessica Taylor's place, hoping they'd find something that could have lead to her dying in that car. It was clear the girl had expensive taste, based on all the material items she had set up everywhere, Jake even just mentioned how she seemed to have a taste for designer clothes after finding some by her bed. Hardly of the material items held any real interest to Calleigh past evidence, however one did catch her eye and she couldn't help but speak about it to Jake as he searched the room. _

_"You know what, I know this is a complete sidebar, but this is the coffee machine that I want. It makes espressos, macchiatos, cappuccinos, everything," Calleigh smiled at Jake._

_"When would I ever make a macchiato?" Jake asked with a slight eye roll._

_"Well, you would make one every morning…after we buy the machine," Calleigh said with a smile._

Using the words 'we' in the domestic sense brought back memories to Calleigh, of when things were at least halfway simple for her and Jake, who she knew sent the coffee maker now in front of her. She recognized the brand name from Jessica's place when they investigated her murder and wouldn't put it passed Jake to go out and buy it.

Just to be sure it was Jake, Calleigh opened the card by the machine; she instantly recognized the penmen ship.

_Consider this a late wedding gift_

_Maybe he could make you macchiato now that you have the machine_

Calleigh clenched her teeth; Jake was getting lower and lower on her list of favorite people. She didn't realize until she heard the crisp sound of crumbling paper that she was clenching her fist in which the envelope was in. She took a deep breath through her nose and closed her eyes, attempting to ward off her anger. The only problem was that she would have to eventually open her eyes and would have to see the appliance on her table.

Was this meant to be a sarcastic or sincere gesture from Jake, she didn't know or care at this point. She did know, however, that Jake needed to learn the phrase 'butt out' and learn to apply it to this situation; it would surely make life easier.

Calleigh shook her head as she finally did open her eyes, the coffee machine sitting right where she knew it would be. But she didn't have time to linger on the subject; there was a crime scene waiting for her and the rest of the team.

She ripped the ridiculously large bow from the side of the box and stashed it under the table, making a mental note to ask around to see if anybody would want it, if they didn't, Calleigh felt no guilt tossing it in a nearby Dumpster. She wasn't going to have this "gift" in her and Eric's kitchen; if she wanted a damn macchiato that badly, she'd just go get one from Starbucks and that be the end of it.

Calleigh sighed in frustration and picked up the bow. She walked passed the trashcan and tossed it inside, angrily, before making her way back into the halls of CSI.

* * *

I love writing fights and then make up scenes between Eric and Cal (oh, and plus I thought it would be beneficial to the story), hopefully no one is too angry about it.


	11. Misdemeanor or Felony

Chapter 11

Misdemeanor or Felony

Jake caught up to Jesse and Calleigh as they approached a meat locker where a body had been found earlier that day, the M.E had already cleared it. Calleigh turned to look at him and her eyes full of rage, he could see he hadn't been forgiven and had angered her more than he ever thought possible.

They entered the meat locker, which was bigger than any of them expected; it was around half the size of a football field with multiple oversized meat packages hanging from the ceiling and smaller packages on the shelves. Calleigh had pulled out her flashlight and made her way along the wall, searching for a bullet hole; Jesse doing the same on the other side. Jake seized this opportunity to make amends.

"Calleigh-," he started to say.

"This about the case?" she asked, colder than the freezer they were in.

"Um, no. But-."

"Then I'm not interested," she interrupted.

He stood silent for a minute as she moved various meat packages to search for the evidence.

"Did you get my gift yesterday?"

"You really think a coffee machine was going to make me forgive you?" she asked, spitefully.

"No, but it's a step."

"Mission failed."

"Could you please hear me out?"

"Um, let me think, no," Calleigh snapped.

"Okay," Jake sighed. "I deserved that."

"Jesse," Calleigh called over to him. "I don't think that the bullet entered the wall."

"What are you thinking?" Jesse wondered, walking over to them.

"Well, the vic was standing in the aisle between the meat. So…"

"The bullet could have entered one of the animals," Jesse nodded, catching on.

"Any idea which one?" Jake asked.

"Any sacks around the pool of blood is our best bet," Calleigh said.

"That's still a lot of meat," Jake sighed.

"There's an extra flashlight in my kit, make yourself useful," Calleigh said, icily.

Jesse raised his eyebrows in surprise; very rarely did Calleigh get this aggressive people, let alone a colleague. As Jake went to Calleigh's kit, Calleigh turned to Jesse and saw his expression.

"Don't ask," Calleigh sighed.

"Funny, your husband always says the same thing when he's around," Jesse chuckled, remembering when he had walked in to see Jake and Eric fighting all those weeks ago.

Calleigh rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Come on, let's find that bullet," Calleigh said as they walked over to the blood pool and began to examine the meat hanging on either side of red puddle.

Jake came over, extra flashlight in hand, and began to help search for the bullet. To Calleigh's dismay, he was looking on the side she was looking.

"Are you and Delko still mad at each other?" Jake asked, keeping his voice low so Jesse wouldn't overhear.

"I don't see how that is any of your business," Calleigh retorted, just as quietly.

"I caused the mess, I have a right to know."

"Is that the famous Berkeley logic that never makes any sense?" Calleigh scoffed.

"It used to make sense to you," Jake pointed out.

"Back in college you _think_ everything makes sense to you."

"It was enough to make you love me."

The heavy truth crushed upon Calleigh, hating to admit that he was right. His mind, his wit and his courage had been enough to tell him those three powerful words. Unfortunately, the characteristics of a great cop can't always compensate for the characteristics of a good partner in life.

"That was over ten years ago, Jake," Calleigh sighed, a bit remorseful.

"Really, two thousand and seven didn't seem that long ago…if I'm not mistaken _that's _when you said you loved me too."

Calleigh went silent; hating to admit it but that she had told him she loved him, thinking things had changed since college. Calleigh and Jake _did _change, they grew, but with that change brought new conflicts and new conflicts had disaster in their shadows.

"I thought you were trying to buy back onto my good side," Calleigh sneered.

"Calleigh, listen," Jake tried to get her to understand. "I know I've been…a bastard lately."

"I didn't notice," Calleigh rolled her eyes.

Jake remembered when Calleigh use to use passive-aggressiveness when she was angry, this was a whole new level of anger on Calleigh that he wasn't accustomed to.

"Listen, I'm sorry," he said, honestly. "I should have talked to you instead of going to interrogate Delko."

"No, what you should have done is butted out," Calleigh corrected.

"Or that. But Calleigh you know who I am, you know I'm not happy about you and Delko and you knew that this wasn't going to be easy on any of us," Jake sighed.

"It could have been," Calleigh shrugged.

"Calleigh, I don't think there's a bullet here," Jesse called from his side.

"Neither do I," Calleigh shook her head, switching her mind from her personal life to the case, hating that she had to combine the two. "This doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe the killer shot her outside and threw her in here," Jake suggested as they came out of the rows of meat to around the blood pool.

"No, there would have been a trail of blood," Jesse said, walking over and shining his light to the deep red puddle on the floor.

"Maybe he cleaned up," Jake shrugged.

"I don't think so," Calleigh disagreed, something wasn't sitting right with her. "Why clean a trail and not attempt to clean the blood pool?"

"Check this out," Jesse said, squatting down by the blood, shining the beam of light to a certain section of the blood. The other two knelt down next to it to see what Jesse was referring to. In the blood were multiple red crystal-like structures, they were small but there were many.

"What are those?" Calleigh asked.

"I think its frozen blood," Jesse said.

"That doesn't fit," Calleigh sighed.

"Why not, we're in a freezer?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, but blood freezes at approximately twenty-three to twenty-four point eight degrees Fahrenheit, it's not that cold in here. I'd say probably only forty, maybe thirty," Calleigh explained.

"So the blood is thawing," Jake nodded in understanding.

"Meaning it was placed," Jesse said. "Why?"

Calleigh's cell phone began to ring.

"Delko?" she answered.

Jake's jaw clenched at the use of the surname.

"Calleigh, it's Ryan. You aren't going to believe this," he sighed.

"Try me," Calleigh dared.

"Natalia just ran the blood in the meat locker, DNA isn't a match to our vic," he said. "In fact the chromosomes were XY, it's male."

"What?" Calleigh asked, taken aback.

"That's what I said," Ryan chuckled, though it wasn't out of amusement. "The blood didn't come up in CODIS."

"Well, the blood was placed here frozen, so maybe it came from a hospital warehouse or something," Calleigh suggested.

"Could be, but that's not the best part," Ryan sighed.

"I'm all ears."

"Our vic, Margo Walsh, died last year from Leukemia. Tom ran her name and this is the same girl. Someone dug her up from the cemetery, placed her and the blood in that locker," Ryan said.

"This murder is staged," Calleigh realized before hitting 'end' on her phone.

"The murder is staged?" Jesse asked. "What are you talking about?"

"This blood doesn't belong to our vic, she died and was buried _last year_," Calleigh explained. "This murder isn't a murder, it's a decoy."

"We've been set up," Jake sighed as the truth became clear.

"By who?" Jesse wondered aloud.

"That's what we need to find out," Calleigh sighed with a one armed shrug.

The sound of a heavy metal door closing became noticed in the room. The three looked over to see a figure move behind the meat hanging from the ceiling. All of them pulled out their guns and raised them, senses on red-alert.

"MDPD!" Jesse cautioned. "Put your hands up and show yourself!"

But the elusive figure didn't follow the orders given by the officer. However the trio did hear a metallic sliding and a soft click, any law enforcement officer would recognize the sound…the sound of a gun slide. Their guns steady, the three took a step forward in an attempt to surround this phantom. But from behind the bags of animal flesh they heard hurried footsteps; the suspect was running, foiling their plans for cornering him.

Jesse and Calleigh exchanged a look, a look Jake clearly understood. Jesse walked horizontally down the row; Calleigh walked in the opposite direction with Jake covering her as they attempted to trap the suspect on either side.

"I'm going to say this one more time!" Jesse warned. "Come-!"

But the sound of gunfire rang out, a bullet hitting Jesse square in the chest, cutting him off as he fell to the ground.

"Jesse!" Calleigh cried as she and Jake whirled around in time to see Jesse fall. She took a step towards his convulsing body, hoping to give him some medical help; he was gagging on his own blood. But before Calleigh could get within a four yards of her colleague, the suspect revealed himself.

The face was that of an angry man, probably not even twenty-five, his face was purple with rage and his lips pressed in a hard line.

Calleigh squeezed her trigger, firing a round at the assailant. She heard a blast of another gunshot from beside her, Jake now shooting.

The man dodged Calleigh's and narrowly missed Jake's, his bullet grazing the shooter's arm. The gunshot wound made the man holler in anger and pain, making him fire off another round in spite just before Calleigh was about to pull the trigger a second time.

This bullet hit Calleigh in her stomach, knocking her to the ground, her gun slipping numbly from her fingers as blood poured out of her abdomen.

Jake fought against every instinct he had and all the training he received by doing what he did next. He fired off one round at the man, not sticking around to see where he had hit him, before dropping to his knees at Calleigh's side while the shooter dropped to the ground. Jake quickly replaced Calleigh's hands for his over the bullet hole, applying pressure to stop the blood.

Calleigh took a gasping breath, her lips beginning to hold an ivory color that turned Jake's stomach, but passed the sound of his heart pounding in his years and the ragged breaths of the woman he was looking upon, he still heard Jesse's jagged breathing. It was slowly lessening in deepness and evenness. Jake looked up to see Jesse's hands twitching, blood flowing out of his chest and from behind his back; the bullet had been a through-and-through. This was the prime example of death as a cop, two of them but only one of him, but Jake knew if his hands left Calleigh's stomach that would be the end of her.

_But what about Jesse? _his mind argued over the ringing in his ears. _You're just going to let him die? Doesn't he deserve to live?_

_Of course he does! But if I go she dies! _he protested.

Just as he thought the words, Calleigh swallowed an uneasy breath of air.

"Calleigh, hold on, babe. Please, hold on," Jake almost begged her, pushing down harder to keep the blood within her.

_Babe? _the voice screeched. _Would you get a grip and have some freakin' dignity! She doesn't love _you_ anymore! This won't change that!_

_I know that! I don't care!_

_Don't you?_

Wishing the voices would cease, Jake went to pull out his phone, calling this in would be the only move that could very well save both of them.

But before Jake could even get a hold on his phone, he felt a pair of hands grabbing his shirt from behind. He looked up before he was flung to the ground, the suspect was moving to another phase of action.

Jake's head collided with the icy ground before the rest of him, he was almost certain he had cracked his skull and spots began to cloud his vision. He blinked his eyes, repetitively, as he turned around to see the shooter standing over Calleigh, favoring his left leg. Jake connected the dots and realized the bullet he had fired came in contact with his leg.

The shooter had his gun pointed right at Calleigh's heart, Jake saw her fingers of one hand on the ground twitching in the direction of her gun feet away from her. Her eyes held pain, fear and the knowledge of knowing she was about to be massacred. But Jake had other plans, despite the black spots blinking around and blocking his vision.

Jake raised his gun, instinctively, and fired a round that hit the shooter's shoulder blade, though Jake had been trying to aim at the back of his head. The shooter wheeled around, looking at Jake with stunned eyes, Jake instantly squeezing the trigger to shoot the man right in the throat.

He swayed, blood pouring down his shirt and spluttering his cheeks with every breath he took, before at last falling forward…he was dead.

Most of Jake's view was covered by dots of darkness and it now seemed to be surrounding everything. But Jake could see Calleigh clearly; she was still dying. Using the little strength he had left, Jake tried to stand to get over to her. But as he tried to elevate himself, the darkness took him under.

Jake's body him the ground with a dull thump. As he lost consciousness, he heard the hollering of sirens in the distance.

* * *

Horatio and Eric drove furiously down the road, almost to the point the Hummer would become airborne as they went down a hill if they drove up it at the right momentum. Horatio made a sharp turn on the road as they rushed to the crime scene.

Horatio had gotten the call from dispatch reporting shots fired at the residence where his CSIs were investigating. Calleigh, Jesse, nor Jake had called to tell him about the shootings, making his mind instantly jump to the worst conclusion. He automatically made his way toward the elevator, feeling the need to rush straight to his team, running into Eric on the way through the lobby.

"H?" Eric had asked, concerned about the disturbed look on Horatio's face.

"Shots were fired at the scene, Eric," Horatio explained, rushing his words slightly as he continued toward the doors. "No one has responded."

Horatio had heard Eric's breath catch in shock, distress and fear filling his eyes.

"Calleigh's at the scene," Eric stated in utter worry, his whole body going numb and his voice wavering. Nevertheless, Eric matched Horatio's pace and they made their way towards the Hummer.

Now they sped, hearts racing and hitting their ribcages so hard it felt like their breastbones were about to shatter. Horatio heard another whaling of sirens, different from the pattern of their law enforcement vehicles. He glanced in his review, seeing a few ambulances behind them; the Caine instinct took over him and he knew that the teams of EMT's on their bumper were rushing to aid ones that were injured at their crime scene. Horatio let them pass, wanting them to get help as soon as possible.

Horatio could see, out of the corner of his eye, Eric's hand on the door handle. There wasn't a single doubt in his mind that the second that they pulled up to the scene would Eric bolt out of the Hummer. Horatio had seen the look of sheer determination on many a person, including himself and the man he sat next to; the sense of urgency and the eyes of fear were just as clear to Horatio as the scene coming into view, making him press on the gas harder.

The ambulance's screeched to a halt in front of the meat locker, Horatio and Eric on their coattails. The CSIs all but jumped out of the car, pulling their guns from their holsters as they approached the locker. The paramedic's were rushing to unload the stretchers from each ambulance, a few which cut Eric off as they bustled, giving Horatio a few feet ahead of Eric as he approached the steel door. Horatio wrenched the door open, quickly scanning the room for any sign of peril with his gun raised.

"Clear!" Horatio clarified, lowering his gun and sprinting over to Calleigh, who was closest to him, hardly noticing the anonymous corpse a few feet from her.

Calleigh's face was turning pale, her emerald eyes glinted with pain, her breathing was ragged and her hands were folded over her stomach, blood seeping through the crevices her fingers.

Horatio shrugged off his jacket and wadded it up; he gently moved her hands and placed it over her bullet wound, applying pressure.

"Calleigh, sweetheart, stay with us," Horatio told her. "Eric!" he called over his shoulder, knowing he was the one who needed to be here, the one _she _needed here. The situation now seemed to be a reincarnation from years ago; suddenly, Horatio was where Eric had been. A wife, one almost like a sister to him, was shot in the abdomen and the man who loved her soon to be rushing to be by her. In the back of his mind, this wasn't just Eric and Calleigh, but Marisol and himself; Horatio hoped to God that this tale didn't end the same way.

Eric rushed over from outside at the sound of Horatio's voice, seeing Calleigh on the ground.

"Calleigh," Eric gasped in fear, dropping to his knees to be by her side.

"Stay with her, Eric," Horatio said, heading toward one of the other injured officers. Eric tried to stop the blood flow from her stomach, the fabric becoming drenched with her warm blood.

Calleigh was struggling to stay alive, each breath getting harder.

"Eric," she choked out.

"Shh," Eric whispered. "I've got you, just hold tight."

Calleigh struggled on an uneasy breath, her head rolling slightly to the side, almost as though defeat had found her. But Eric reached up with one of his hands to make her look up at him.

"No, no, no," Eric told her, firmly. "Don't quit on me now."

In the distance Eric heard Horatio talking to either Jesse or Jake, he wasn't sure which one, he didn't exactly take the time to look around when he saw Calleigh on the floor.

"Son, stay with me," he said, urgently. But there was an unpleasant sound from the same spot Horatio's voice was resonating; almost though someone were gurgling blood.

"T-that's…J-," Calleigh tried to say, her words incoherent due to her ragged breathing.

"Cal, don't try to talk, just hold on," Eric whispered, comfortingly, but all the while he was thinking, _Where the hell are the paramedics? _

His question was answered by three different teams, pushing three separate stretchers, rushed inside. One, to Eric's relief, stopped at Calleigh as they lowered the stretcher down to ground level. They instructed Eric to give them space to work over Calleigh, Eric obeyed, but still stayed within her line of sight; never once did his pair of eyes leave hers. He stayed by her head as they lifted her onto the stretcher, Calleigh wincing a bit as they did so, making Eric wanting to shout at them for causing her more pain.

"She's ready for transport," one of the men reported to the rest of the squad after placing an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth. The stretcher was raised to its original height and started to roll out of the door.

Eric gently took Calleigh's hand as they rolled her to the ambulance with haste, her palm cold and her blood transferred onto his hand. But it was the grip of her hand that scared Eric, her fingers holding his hand feebly, indicating just how weak she really was becoming.

The medics loaded Calleigh, making their hands slip away from the others grasp for a moment until Eric was able to climb into the vehicle by her side, taking her hand in his once again.

"We'll be at the hospital soon, Calleigh," he promised her. "Just hold on a little bit longer."

Calleigh could only blink in response, tear ducts watering in pain and her green eyes scorching. Eric gave her hand a tender, reassuring squeeze as the doors to the ambulance closed and it began to travel with remarkable speed. Calleigh tried to keep her eyes on Eric, despite the phenomenal pain in her stomach as the paramedics worked over her in the speeding ambulance. She tried to focus on his warm hand as he held hers, she tried to hold his comforting gaze and focus on the feel of his other hand as he smoothed back the hair atop her head. He was the only thing keeping her alive; the only thing keeping her tied to this world.

Eric wasn't at all surprised when a team of ER nurses had to stop him when Calleigh arrived at the hospital, he would never be able to break the rule of stopping outside the Emergency Room. He felt Calleigh's fingers slip from his grasp and the doors to the ER close, leaving him standing in the hall in their dust; she had vanished.

Now that he couldn't see her, now that he wasn't leaning over her dying body, could he grasp how horrific the situation was. He could feel his hands shaking. He turned his quivering palms over to see the dark skin had been smothered in a scarlet substance, the blood of his wife. Eric sat down on one of the nearby chair, feeling as though his knees were about to fail supporting him. He propped his elbows on his knees, the palms of his hands looking at him, the red gore almost mocking him as if they were saying that she wasn't going to make it. Eric dared his hands to stop shaking, telling himself that if he did then Calleigh would walk out of here; but his hands didn't stop and, for some irrational reason, it angered him. Unthinkingly, he balled his hands into fits, which made the blood that had yet to dry ooze between the fissures of his fingers.

He watched the ER doors in baited breath, anxiety rushing through him to the extent he thought his heart would abruptly stop in mid-beat. God only knew the exact details of what was happening on the other side of the double doors, but Eric was knowledgeable of one thing; the doctors were either saving Calleigh or they were losing her, that was the only certainty Eric found in this.

His mind was slowly being engulfed by the fear of his own mind. How many times must this happen? How many times did they have to fear for the others life until this baleful routine would stop? Even worse, how much longer could one soul fight? When would it be the final curtain call, when would someone's luck finally fail them, when would the snake eyes be rolled?

The sound of aluminum doors being pushed open jerked Eric out of his cynical reverie. He saw a distressed doctor, dressed in pale blue scrubs and his mask pulled so it was worn loosely around his neck, walk away from the ER. Eric stood up, bracing himself for any news the doctor was about to give, and made his way towards the doctor.

"I'm Dr. Reagan, I'm assuming your Mr. Delko?" the doctor asked, doing his identifying protocol.

"Yes, um…" Eric took a deep breath to steady himself. "How's…how's my wife?"

Dr. Reagan rolled his lips before looking Eric dead in the eye.

"She is in a very delicate condition," he sighed. "The bullet wound caused massive damage to her internal organs, especially in the upper abdominal cavity. In addition, she lost a lot of blood, it's a miracle she made it this far."

Eric swallowed the lump in his throat, fear so strong it was physically hurting him; he was almost nauseated.

"Can you do anything?" Eric asked.

"We had to rush her to surgery to repair her organs. Depending on how everything plays out in surgery will determine her recovery," Dr. Reagan explained, his voice sympathetic.

"How long will the surgery last?" Eric questioned.

"Hard to be exact, it depends on the amount of damage we see once we cut her open." Eric winced at these words; the idea of someone running an apical scalpel made him want to hit something…hard. "I think it's safe to say it'll be a good few hours," Dr. Reagan sighed.

Eric looked at the ground and took a cleansing breath as he fought to keep a stable mind.

_At least she's got a chance, Delko, _he tried to convince himself, his attempts flaccid.

Eric nodded, his way of telling the physician that he understood the venture of Calleigh's condition; Eric was hardly aware of the sound of flat-footed shoes walking away from him as they touched the marble floor.

* * *

His hands were clean, he wished he could say the same thing for his mind and heart. They were overtaken by fear, anger, anguish and fear again. The only way any of his fears could be diluted was to see Calleigh's eyes, open with something that wasn't pain, and hearing her heartbeat in a steady rhythm; only then would he exhale.

Sitting gave his mind too much time to roam thoughts he would rather not process, making him restless. He got up and paced, counting the tiles on the ground to preoccupy his mind. _One…two…three…four…five, _about face_. One…two…three…four…five…_

The routine would only partially distract him for a few minutes, maybe even less and standing in the same hallway wasn't helping matters. In most cases when Calleigh was in the hospital he had been able to sit by her bedside a mere few moments after talking to a doctor. This time he was left alone in an empty hallway, which had no intent of filling back up again. The only thing this corridor was full of was Eric's torment and woe. The day had began normally, her head resting against his bare chest as she awoke from her slumber, his arm wrapped around her naked waist and their legs and fingers intertwined; he would give _anything _to get moment back.

Eric jumped when the shrill ring of his cell phone broke the silence in the hall. After taking a deep breath to restart his heart, Eric pulled out his phone, not bothering to look at the ID.

"This is Delko," he addressed himself, Eric's voice was rough.

"Eric, where are you?" Horatio asked, his tone as solemn as Eric felt.

"H, I'm…" Eric cleared his throat. "I'm outside the ER."

"Calleigh?" Horatio questioned, worriedly.

"She's critical," Eric sighed, the words burned as they escaped his lips.

"I'm sorry…um, could you come to the entrance to the hospital, please?" Horatio asked, tone getting heavier and heavier with every syllable.

"Everything okay?"

"No," Horatio breathed; Eric could almost see him shaking his head.

"I'll be right down," Eric promised before ending the call.

It took Eric all of three seconds to put the dots together, even though Horatio didn't specify what was happening that was so serious he couldn't discuss it over the phone. Eric knew that either Jesse or Jake was injured…or worse.

Eric may not have been Jake's biggest fan, especially in the recent weeks, but he would never wish pain or death upon him. As for Jesse, the two had made progress to becoming friends in the recent months and, though they weren't as close as Eric and Speedle had been, he was still a member of CSI and on his way to becoming an asset.

Eric took a left and he was in the lobby at the front of the hospital, the team standing off to the side. Ryan was hanging his head, Natalia's face tear stained, still being diluted by saltwater. Horatio had a look of anger and sadness in one. Eric approached the trio; automatically knowing he had been right to worry about the conversation about to commence.

"Is Calleigh okay?" Natalia cried when he was close enough, her voice almost hysterical and wavering.

"She's in surgery, if she can pull through that she should be fine," Eric attempted to comfort the team, as well as convince himself there was some hope. "Jake and Cardoza?"

Natalia choked on a sob, Ryan placed a comforting hand on her arm, still looking at his shoes.

"Jake regained consciousness a few minutes ago, he has a mild concussion and should be okay," Horatio said.

"Jesse?"

Horatio hung his head, needing no words to translate his face.

"Guys!" a tenor voice called from the doors. They all looked over to see a heavy framed African-American man, taller than anyone in the room. Walter all but jogged over to them, clearly anxious for answers.

"Walter," Horatio nodded to him, the best greeting he could give.

"I just got out of court and I heard that Jess and Calleigh were in a shootout and brought here. Rumors are that they're both dead," Walter rushed to explain. "Please tell me it's not true."

"Calleigh's in surgery, but she's critical," Ryan sighed, probably guessing that Eric didn't want to repeat the statement again. "But…Walter, Jesse lost too much blood at the scene and died en route to the hospital."

Walter looked as though someone had just striked him across the face, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Well, do we know the jackass that did it?" Walter asked.

"We know he's dead," Horatio explained. "But the investigation into why is ongoing."

"Count me in," Walter stated, wanting to know who wounded and murdered his friends.

"Probably for the best Walter," Horatio nodded. "Because I have the feeling one of us is going to want to stay here." Horatio gave Eric a meaningful look, in which Eric nodded in response.

* * *

Horatio, Natalia, Ryan and Walter stood outside the hospital doors, the Miami sun looking down upon them.

"Ms. Boa Vista and Mr. Wolfe, if you would process the scene, please. I want to find out what happened," Horatio instructed, his jaw was rigid due to the anger within him.

The two nodded, they too desperate for answers.

"What do you want me to do, H?" Walter asked, determinedly.

"Walter, we," Horatio said, sliding on his sunglasses. "Are getting some answers."

* * *

Sorry Cardoza fans for killing him off, I already know some are not too thrilled some are thrilled about Cardoza leaving in the actual series. I'm in the latter category; I didn't like all his qualities but some of them I did admire. He wasn't my favorite character, but I do like him more so than the new ME (I miss Alexx! I loved her and would have liked Tara more if it weren't for that whole drug fiasco).

I'm just pleased Eric's back!

BTW: I'm not going to lie, I was too lazy to edit this so I apologize for lack of detail and typos.


	12. Running with Scissors, Playing with Fire

Chapter 12

Running with Scissors and Playing with Fire

"Tripp, you need to tell them to let me go," Jake demanded from his hospital bed, where at the foot Tripp was standing. Jake could care less about the swell on his head or the pain of any other injuries he had received in the locker, all he wanted to do was get out of this bed and attempt to fix this horrible situation.

"Berkeley," Tripp sighed, impatiently. "You have a concussion, you aren't leaving this _room _for at least a few more hours, minimum, let alone the hospital."

"I've been through worse," Jake assured him. "Cardoza is dead, Calleigh is critical-."

"And you're a material witness who can probably help us figure this out if you would shut up to let me ask a few questions," Tripp snapped, obviously he still wasn't going to show Jake any sympathy, despite the fact he was in a hospital ward.

It became apparent to Jake the death of Jesse was hanging heavy of Tripp's shoulders as it was Jake's. Whenever silence fell, Jake could still hear the struggled breathing from Jesse's dying throat accompanied by the pained gasps from Calleigh as she fought for her life and, according to Tripp, that's what she was still doing. She was on one of the floors below him, being operated on in a crucial attempt to save her life, her mortality hanging by strands of thread that consisted of doctors and her own will to live; Jake prayed they would be enough.

Nothing about this seemed right, Calleigh was struggling to survive, Jesse's body was somewhere growing cold while he had passed through the crisis practically unscathed and wasn't allowed to get out and serve them the slightest bit of justice.

Tripp let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand over the top of his bare head, trying to contain any frustration or pain he might have been feeling to attempt to be diplomatic towards Jake.

"Listen, Jesse was a friend of mine, too, and I love Calleigh like she was my daughter, so I would appreciate it if you would quit trying to play hero by getting out of here and, instead, answer a few questions."

Jake sighed in defeat as he leaned back into his pillows to lessen the pressure that came with supporting his head alone and kept his eyes on the ceiling.

"What do you want to know?" he asked Tripp.

He heard Tripp clicking a pen and the rustle of pages in his notepad being flipped open.

"Let's start with what happened," Tripp suggested.

Jake closed his eyes, trying to remember the vivid details, clouded by the trauma.

"We had just figured out the crime scene was a hoax, the DB died of natural causes awhile back and had been dug up and placed, along with the blood," Jake recollected.

"So there was no murder?" Tripp clarified.

Jake began to nod, but stopped instantly, the motion may as well of been him striking cast iron across his forehead.

"We heard someone come in, but he ducked behind the meat before we could see him," Jake continued. "What we tried to do was Calleigh and I were going to go down the row on one side, Jesse was going to take the other to try and corner the suspect."

Jake paused until he heard the scribbling of pen on paper cease, giving Tripp the chance to write everything Jake had stated up until that point.

"Then?" Tripp coaxed Jake to continue.

"While we tried to corner him, the guy jumped out. He shot Jesse then turned his gun on Calleigh and I. One of our bullets hit him, while the other he dodged."

"Do you know who's bullet hit him?" Tripp asked, eyes on the notepad.

"No," Jake replied.

"That was when Calleigh got hit?" Tripp assumed.

Emotion, or maybe bile, Jake wasn't sure, rose in his throat. Either way, it was an uncomfortable lump that caused him not to speak, so the memory couldn't be spoken but it was still replaying in his mind. If Jake remembered correctly, the cerebrum controlled the memory in your brain and Jake heavily wished that part of his brain had been destroyed. At least then he wouldn't be hearing the shot that fired the bullet that injured Calleigh severely. Jake heard his heart monitor beside him and how the rhythm was speeding up.

"Jake?" Tripp asked, pulling Jake back to the present.

"C-Calleigh went to fire at the guy… but he was too quick," Jake stuttered out, his voice thick as he tried to speak through the lump still resting on his vocal chords. "I shot at him after she went down. I thought I got in a kill shot, but I only hit him in the right leg. I rushed to Calleigh to try to control her bleeding, but the guy got back up and threw me off of her."

"That's when you hit your head?"

"Yeah," Jake nodded. "He stood over Calleigh, ready to shoot her. I pulled my gun back out of my holster and shot him twice…I think one got him in his back, maybe his shoulder, then he turned around and I shot him in the throat."

"Then you blacked out?" Tripp asked.

"Yeah, that's basically what happened. Anything else?" Jake sighed.

"No, that's about it," Tripp shook his head as he pocketed his pen and notepad.

"Will you let me leave now?" Jake demanded, hoping that his cooperation would convince Tripp to talk the doctors into letting him go.

"Damn it, Berkeley," Tripp snapped. "When is this going to get through that thick skull of yours? You have a _concussion. _You are lucky to be alive, one of your colleagues is dead, the other one isn't far from it-."

"Wow, Frank, I didn't realize that, thank you," Jake sneered, sarcastically. "Why do you think I want out of here? I want to find the truth as much as you do!"

"You won't be finding anything if you dosomething stupid like walking out of here when the doctors haven't cleared you yet!" Tripp almost shouted. "Now, I've got to go and help the others out. What you've just told me will help and you would help even more if you stayed put."

Before Jake could respond, Tripp was walking out the door, leaving him alone in his hospital room. Leaving plenty of room for his memories to playback once again. The fear for Calleigh he had felt in those moments and was still feeling was phenomenal, he could still here her every gasp, see her every wince and see the murderer standing over her dying body as he prepared to shoot her.

His thoughts also ranged passed Calleigh and to his fallen colleague. Jesse had been looking straight at Jake when he went to Calleigh, almost begging to be helped. The silent pleas had been overlooked as Jake attempted to save Calleigh's life, a deed worth doing. But the whole situation had been nothing but a catch-22 without anyway of being avoided, save Jesse or save Calleigh. But Jake didn't look at it as his place to chose you lived and who died, so why was he forced to play God?

* * *

Natalia and Ryan had followed their orders and returned to the crime scene, which now contained four individual blood pools: the blood used to create the crime scene, Jesse's, Calleigh's and the shooters. The shooter's body, who had yet to be identified, had been taken to Tom for an autopsy and the body who had been forcibly removed from her place in the cemetery had been re-buried, no longer serving a purpose in their investigation and deserving to rest in peace.

"Got it," Ryan sighed as he hung up his cell phone before turning to Natalia. "That was Tom, he just finished his post. There was no ID on our guy and his prints and DNA aren't in the system."

"And Trace just got a hold of me, they found ACD, it's an anticoagulant, in the blood. They use it in hospitals to conserve blood samples," Natalia explained. "The anticoagulant and the blood must be frozen at negative seven point six degrees to be kept fully preserved."

"That could explain our stolen from the hospital theory," Ryan nodded, grabbing his Nikon camera. "The question is, how did our shooter get his hands on it?"

"I'm thinking an accomplice who is a doctor," Natalia shrugged as she pulled her light out of her kit. "I doubt anyone could pull this off by themselves…okay, let's get started."

Ryan walked toward the puddle of blood that had belonged to Calleigh, shaking his head at the sight and his reflection in her blood looking back up at him.

"I still can't believe this," he admitted out loud, laying down the evidence marker and snapping the picture.

"Yeah, I know," Natalia sighed, sadly, as she walked over to where Jake had fallen. She tried her sincere hardest to focus on the case other than the loss of Jesse and the near deaths of Jake and Calleigh; it wasn't without difficulty did she succeed. "I've got a nine-mil, might be Jake's," Natalia said, she too laying down the marker and capturing a picture of the gun before bagging it.

"And I've got a forty-five and another nine-mil," Ryan called over to her. "And since nine-mils are standard issue for law enforcement…"

"The forty-five is our perp's," Natalia nodded.

"You know, he may not have been in the system, but if he registered that gun we may find out who our John Doe is," Ryan grinned, slightly, praying they could find out who this poor excuse for a human was. "I'll get the gun to Firearms."

"You know, we may find out who he is even if the gun isn't registered," Natalia said; Ryan could almost hear a smile in her voice.

"What makes you say that?" Ryan asked, turning around to look at Natalia. In her gloved hand was a damaged Pantech cell phone, no doubt destroyed by the fall, that they were certain didn't belong to Calleigh, Jake, or Jesse. "Well, that's something. Is the SIMM card still intact?"

Natalia slid open the back and removed the battery, resting under the metal clip was a perfectly usable SIMM.

"Bingo," she nodded as she bagged the device. "I'll go to AV you go to Firearms."

* * *

"I've got good news and bad news," Ryan sighed as he approached Walter and Horatio in the hallway.

"Get the bad news over with," Walter suggested. As far as he was concerned, no bad news could be worse than the news he had heard a few hours ago.

"Well, the gun isn't registered to our guy. But the good news is it was in the system, registered to a Paul McAllen," Ryan explained, handing the printed out IBIS hit to Horatio.

"Now he's our lead suspect for being John Doe's accomplice," Horatio mused.

"You really think he had help?" Walter asked.

"Who goes to commit a murder without a getaway car?" Horatio pointed out, knowing that murderers were cowards who think they could hide behind one another to cover their tracks; he was certain this was the same matter.

"Right," Walter nodded. "Not to mention how our John Doe got his hands on stored blood."

"Now, I might be able to help you with that," Ryan interjected. "I did some research on Paul here, he's a doctor. Actually, he's a PT at Dade General."

"Sure sounds like a partner to me," Walter shrugged.

"Let's have Frank pick him up, see if Paul has anything to admit to. Has Natalia had any luck with the cell phone?" Horatio asked.

"Last I saw of her she was just meeting Dave in AV."

"That's where I'll be," Horatio sighed, turning on his heel to make his way towards AV.

Horatio approached Dave as he worked on the surface computer; it appeared to be he was flipping through phone records.

"Dave, where's Ms. Boa Vista?" Horatio asked, coming to stand beside him.

"We were able to identify your killer through his phone, it belongs to a Charles Adtkins. Natalia went to see if there was any file on him, seeing if she could find his motive for wanting to kill the three," Dave explained, not looking at Horatio, but rather at the information he was moving across the screen.

"So what are you looking at?" Horatio questioned.

"Call log. If he does have a partner they'd be in constant contact and so according to the calls made and received, total, he has been in contact with…" Dave scrolled through the list of numbers before dragging a certain one to the middle of the monitor and enhancing its size; an area code along with seven other digits was now in front of them. "This number nineteen times this week alone."

Horatio pulled out his cell phone and dialed in the number upon the screen. Horatio put his phone to his ear and, without so much as a ring, an absence greeting he heard.

"You've reached Dr. Paul McAllen, I'm not here right now. Please leave you information and I'll call you back," the deep voice of a man spoke.

Horatio hung up before the option to leave a voicemail was completed.

"Paul McAllen is our accomplice," Horatio thought aloud. "Thank you, Dave."

* * *

Horatio walked into the interrogation room, a young man who could only be Dr. McAllen was standing up across the table from Frank. Horatio walked up to the man who was a few inches taller than himself, but Horatio felt absolutely no threat being created.

"Take a seat, Paul," Horatio almost growled at him.

"Maybe I don't-."

Horatio shoving him into the chair, which rolled several feet back on impact, cut off McAllen's protest.

"Why don't you tell Lieutenant Caine where you were when we picked you up, sport?" Frank suggested, angrily.

McAllen sat, silently, obviously not going to say anything.

"He was waiting in his car around the block from the crime scene, saying he was waiting for a friend," Frank explained to Horatio; McAllen obviously wasn't going to.

"Guess you didn't know your partner's plan backfired, did you?" Horatio asked McAllen.

"Excuse me? What do you mean by my partner?" McAllen questioned, pretending to be confused. "You know what we're talking about. We know you've been in contact with Charles Adtkins." Frank stated.

"Who?"

"Paul, today is not a good day to screw around with me, so cut the crap and tell us the truth," Horatio warned. "Now, we know that your buddy, Charles, was involved in a police shooting this morning and it got him killed. And three law enforcement officers were injured during the process, a CSI was killed and another one is at death's door."

"That's a shame, but what's it got to do with me?" McAllen shrugged. "I don't know who you're talking about and I don't know anything about cops getting killed."

"Yes, you do. I don't know why, yet, but you and Charles devised a plan to shoot a corpse, plant the body along with some blood to make it look like a murder had taken place in that meat locker. You dropped off your pal after CSI arrived and waited for him to return, but you didn't know he was dead," Horatio clarified, looking McAllen fiercely in the eye. "Am I getting warmer?"

McAllen let out a dull laugh and shook his head, staring out the window.

"Even if that were true, there is no way you could prove it," McAllen said, darkly.

"Actually, I can. It is called forensic proof, my friend," Horatio said, sliding the printout of the IBIS hit Ryan had given him earlier across the table. "Your gun was used this morning to shoot Jesse Cardoza and Calleigh Delko."

"That gun was stolen weeks ago," McAllen scoffed.

"I had a feeling you'd say that, they always do," Frank shook his head. "I checked the records, you never filled out a report on a missing forty-five, only a thirty-odd six two years ago. You gave that gun to Adtkins to shoot our friends."

McAllen clucked his tongue, deep in thought.

"I'm one of the top Physical Therapists in the country, I make more money in a month than you two probably do in a year. I'll get myself a good lawyer, your evidence will be overturned. Maybe Charlie took the gun when he was at my house and I never noticed it was gone. Maybe those phone records are simply two old friends catching up," McAllen smirked, smugly. "You can't prove that I helped him murder anyone."

"That's where your wrong," Ryan stated, walking into the room. "One of our DNA analyst, Maxine Valera, re-ran the blood found at the scene, she told me it was AB positive."

"Wow, well I guess you got me," McAllen sighed, sarcastically.

"Oh, but wait there's more," Ryan said. "CSI Simmons just watched the video footage from the hospital basement where the blood for transfusions, surgery's, etc. are kept. You are on there and you took some blood. And we checked the inventory, there is a pint of AB positive blood missing."

"Now, Paul, answer me this, why would a Physical Therapist need blood?" Horatio asked.

"I gave a guy some blood, big deal," McAllen shrugged, nonchalantly. "I never laid a finger on those cops, Charles did everything."

"You know for a doctor, you're not very smart," Frank muttered.

"Paul, you need to grasp the concept of murder you are an accomplice to. In this case, the felony murder of a police officer and the attempted murder of two more, not to mention theft of the blood you stole," Horatio explained.

"Basically, pal," Ryan sighed. "You have one hell of a rap sheet that no lawyer could make you escape from."

"You know what?" McAllen snapped. "I'm not saying another word to you people."

"Fine, get this piece of slime out of here," Horatio instructed to the nearby patrolwoman.

* * *

Hours upon hours had passed and no one had come out to tell Eric anything about how Calleigh's surgery was progressing. Eric had tried pacing, sitting down and even hitting the wall at one point but nothing was helping him relieve his fear or his anxiety. The doctor had said the operation could take awhile depending on the amount of internal organ damage, but this only made Eric think about how serious her condition was. Based on the amount of time she had been in that dire room, he could only think of how hurt she was and how she could possibly be beyond repair…that she would slip away to the land where Jesse now was.

Eric was certain his thoughts would have become more pessimistic, had it not been for the sound of the door to the waiting room opening in closing. Eric looked up to see Dr. Reagan walking inside, a clipboard in hand. Eric stood up; his legs felt as though they were made out of some kind of lead compound. The doctor's face was solemn, a look that instantly worried Eric as he stepped towards him.

Maybe it was because the doctor had been at his job so long he knew when to speak or maybe it was the look on Eric's face, pale from fear, but Dr. Reagan instantly started filling Eric in on the details; the most important one being if Calleigh had survived.

"Mr. Delko, she was very lucky," he sighed. "The bullet hit her liver and proceeded to travel inside her gallbladder. Unfortunately, her gallbladder was beyond repair and we had to perform an emergency cholecystectomy to remove it. She can live without her gallbladder, but her liver was a different story-."

"Were you able to repair it?" Eric interrupted, anxious due to the doctor's change in tone and letting his fears get the better of him.

"It was tricky, but we were able to extract the bullet and repair her liver," Dr. Reagan reassured Eric, calmly. "But she did lose a lot of blood, we had to perform a few transfusions even before the surgery she had lost so much blood at the scene. If it hadn't been for the care she had received there, we would have lost her."

"But she'll be alright?" Eric asked, hopefully.

"It'll take a week or two for her to fully heal and she'll have to ease back into normal routine, but yes she'll be fine," Dr. Reagan nodded.

Eric let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you…can I see her?" he asked, thinking this good news would become more real if he actually saw Calleigh, saw that she was no longer bleeding.

"We're moving her into Recovery now, a nurse will come get you when she's ready," the doctor promised him.

Eric nodded in understanding before the doctor walked away. Eric exhaled, relieved, and his knees gave out, collapsing back into the chair he'd been sitting in for hours on end. The fear that had taken up every pore in his body for the last few hours was slowly evaporating, relief and gratefulness taking their place.

"Eric?" Eric heard a voice say his name. He looked up to see Horatio as he approached, taking a seat next to Eric. "How's Calleigh?"

The first smile in hours came to Eric's lips, he could breathe freely and couldn't hide the happiness in his voice when he said to Horatio, "She just out of surgery and she's going to be okay."

Horatio smiled and nodded, thanking God that the team wasn't going to endure the loss of yet another member of their family.

"You guys find out the whole story?" Eric asked.

"We did," Horatio nodded, Natalia having given Horatio the back story after McAllen's conviction. "As it turns out, Charles Adtkins was the son of a convicted rapist in California, sentenced to life in prison in two-thousand."

"And Jesse was the one who put him in there?" Eric inferred.

"Correct," Horatio nodded. "Charles didn't believe the proof and, according to friends and family, had been wanting to get revenge on Jesse since his father's conviction. When he got wind that Jesse moved to Florida, he looked up Paul McAllen who was an old friend of his in high school and created the crime scene, waiting for Jesse to respond."

"Guess he didn't count on their being three of them there," Eric sighed. "I guess he won. Jesse's dead."

"As long as Calleigh and Jake are still breathing, he didn't win, Eric," Horatio corrected him.

Eric nodded in agreement when a nurse walked towards the two.

"Mr. Delko, you can see your wife now," the woman smiled at him.

Eric and Horatio stood up, Horatio asking Eric to tell Calleigh that he was glad that she was going to be okay before walking towards the exit.

"She maybe out awhile longer," the nurse informed Eric as she escorted him towards Calleigh's room. "While under anesthesia the doctor gave her some pain medication to rest a bit longer, she may need some strength built up after today and sleeping is generally the best way to do so. But the surgery went well and she is expected to make a full recovery," the nurse explained as she stopped outside the door.

"Thank you," Eric nodded at her before stepping inside Calleigh's room.

* * *

In all the novels she had read, the medical dramas she had seen or the movies she had watched none seemed to mention the burn an IV has on the arm. People portray the needle in the vein as though it weren't there, but it sends a pain in your arm, practically paralyzing it. That's the first thing Calleigh noticed when she began to be pulled out of the black, the scorching feeling in her arm that was the needle. Then she felt the pain in her stomach, the feel of the hard bed she was on and the plastic under her nose. The pain in her stomach made perfect sense, she remembered being struck by the bullet and knew that she had been stitched up.

Calleigh tried to open her eyes, but they were heavy, she must have had some strong drugs in her system. She tried to find some good around her as she tried to block out the rhythmic beeping around her that had to be her heart rate. She was desperate to find something that wasn't painful. The warmth around her hand, warmth that could only be created by one person, answered her pleas.

Calleigh tightened her fingers around his hand as she tried to blink open her eyes. She heard Eric's breath catch when he felt her attempts at communication. Her lids finally lifted from her eyes, revealing the hospital room she had been placed in and, more importantly, the man next to her. A look of relief took over his features, his lips turning up into a small smile, though there was still light worry in his eyes.

"Hey," Eric whispered, voice a bit sad. "Welcome back."

"Hi," Calleigh breathed, her voice was thick. "Jake… Jesse?"

Eric let out a sad sigh, not looking at her now. She knew the look he was wearing…somebody was dead.

"Um…Jake got hit in the forehead and got a minor concussion," Eric explained, his voice soft. "He'll be fine."

"But Jesse?" Calleigh asked.

Eric shook his head.

"He had lost too much blood at the scene. He lost consciousness on the way to the hospital and…" Eric trailed off.

Calleigh nodded, every factor coming back to her. She remembered Jesse falling as blood escaped his chest; she remembered the bullet making contact with her abdomen and Jake's attempt to keep the blood within her body. She remembered him saying _"Calleigh, hold on, babe. Please, hold on."_ She saw the angry shooter standing above her as she tried to reach for her gun; Jake shooting the man before he had the chance to pull the trigger that would have been the end of her.

"Jake saved my life," Calleigh breathed, almost in surprise. She had treated him so cruelly by shrugging him off moments before the shooting broke out, but he was still over her as he tried to keep her alive. While yards away Jesse had too been struggling for his life and no one could have been of any aid to him.

"Jake should have gone to him instead of me," Calleigh concluded. The people who treated others fairly were suppose to be the ones that lived, not the ones who lash out at people, no matter how understandable the anger.

"No-," Eric began to protest.

"He'd be alive if he had."

"That's not true. Jesse's injuries were too great, his heart and left lung were hit. If Jake had gone to Jesse, we would have lost you both," Eric whispered, reaching up to gently comb his fingers through the roots of her hair.

"But, Eric, I was-." Calleigh cut off as she tried to sit up, the movement making her stitches on her side tug uncomfortably to the extent of painful. Calleigh took an uneasy breath through her teeth and closed her eyes as she relaxed back into her pillows.

"Easy, you'll burst your stitches," he said, soothingly as he laid a comforting hand on Calleigh's shoulder.

Calleigh exhaled and nodded as a few tears welled in her eyes as the fact sunk in that never again would they see Jesse at a crime scene or in the lab. Instead he would be laid in the ground, the only scene his body would ever be present at again. Jesse had been the first friend Calleigh had made at Miami-Dade PD, back when she was always enthused and energetic about anything and everything, and she had been his last friend to ride with him to a crime scene. In some strange way, Calleigh and Jesse's friendship had come full circle…and now had ended.

Calleigh felt the pad of Eric's thumb softly sweep across her cheek as he wiped away the single tear that she had let fall. Her glassy eyes traveled from the ceiling and back to her husband, his face sad as hers and worried; Calleigh had the feeling he was going to be overly protective of her and constantly worried about her until she was a back to work full time and completely recovered.

"I'm sorry, Cal," Eric whispered.

"Me too," Calleigh nodded with a light sigh.

They looked up to see the doctor, Dr. Reagan, and the nurse at his side. The nurse closed the curtain to the window that looked into Calleigh's room.

"Sir, would you mind stepping out while we look over her for a few minutes, please?" the nurse asked, kindly. The RN had probably worked in the hospital long enough to know that the slightest disturbance on the loved one's body would send the observer into a state of panic. Even so, Eric was unwilling to leave Calleigh, but she reassuringly squeezed his hand.

"I'll be okay," she smiled at him.

Eric looked between the doctor, nurse and Calleigh. He nodded, reluctantly.

"I'll be right outside," he whispered to Calleigh before gently placing his lips to hers.

"Okay," Calleigh nodded when his lips left hers. "Don't worry."

* * *

Jake was released, finally, with nothing more than a bandage on his forehead. He saw Delko sitting on one of the chairs outside Calleigh's room.

"How she doing?" Jake asked as he approached Delko.

Delko stood up and sighed.

"The worst is over," he said, gratefully. "The doctor is just checking her out to be sure…how about you?"

"I'll live," Jake shrugged.

There was a silence and the both looked at the door that led to Calleigh's room.

"Thank you," Delko whispered.

Jake would have much preferred to hear Delko say something sarcastic or insulting, like they had been saying to each other the last several weeks, he didn't want to be thanked for this. He may have saved one, but he lost another. The only reason Delko was thanking him now was because Jake had saved his wife and Jake was glad he did, knowing the pain it would have caused him if Calleigh had died. But then he thought of Jesse and how he too was loved by his friends and family; in ways it seemed fair, in others very unfair. There was no winning and no losing; it evened itself out in a tie.

"Don't," Jake demanded. "I'm not a hero, I did what any cop would have done."

"And today that any cop was you," Delko pointed out.

"I let another member of the team die," Jake spat.

"Jesse would have died if a team of surgeons had been in that locker with him the second he got shot," Delko insisted.

"Delko, I don't need you to ease my conscience," Jake snapped. "And I didn't save her for your benefit-."

"I know that," Delko retorted. "But I'm sure as hell glad that you did."

"But I didn't do it for mine, either," Jake sighed, acting like he didn't hear a word Delko had said. "I did it for her. She deserves the chance to live a full life so just do me a favor and make sure she doesn't do anything stupid, like return to the lab right away."

The door opened that opened into Calleigh's room, a doctor and a nurse Jake didn't recognize stepped out.

"She's fine, no signs of complication in the healing process," the doctor promised. "We offered her more pain medication, but she refused."

Jake and Delko harmoniously rolled their eyes; classic Calleigh, refusing anything that could ease her pain in the slightest.

"You can go back in now," the doctor said as he and the nurse walked away.

"Tell her I said I'm glad she's okay," Jake told Delko as he began to head towards the elevator, not even waiting for a response. Jake heard Delko step inside the room as he dug out his wallet from the bag in which the hospital said held all his personal items, hoping he had enough money for a cab to take him home. He pulled out a few five-dollar bills and started to count them as he approached the elevator, but he heard a voice as he got up to the third Lincoln.

"Jake!" he heard Delko call from behind him.

Sighing in frustration, Jake turned back around to see Delko back out in the hallway.

"What?" Jake asked, annoyed.

"Calleigh wants to talk to you," Delko replied.

Slightly confused, Jake retraced his steps back to Calleigh's room.

"Why?" Jake questioned.

"She said she just wants to say something to you," Delko shrugged.

Jake exhaled and turned towards the door, hoping that Calleigh wasn't going say anything to him along the same lines as Delko just did, but he knew that hope was probably in vain; his hopes always seemed to be that.

"You're not coming in?" Jake asked, noticing how Delko took his seat outside the door when Jake twisted the handle.

"This should probably be something just between you and her," Delko said, indifferently.

"Suit yourself," Jake shrugged before opening the door to see Calleigh lying in her hospital bed. She looked tired and a bit on the pale side, but on all other accounts looked healthy. She smiled weakly at him and pulling a piece of stray hair out of the space between the breathing tube and her cheek.

"Hey," she greeted him, her voice coated with pain and heavy from tiredness.

Jake had meant to return her salutation but instead he said something that most people wouldn't dare say in this moment.

"You're crazy," Jake accused her.

"Why do you say that?" Calleigh asked.

"Because you were shot, went through surgery in which one of your internal organs were removed, and you still won't take any pain meds for it," Jake smiled down at her.

"You take any for that?" Calleigh asked, gesturing towards the bump on his forehead.

"Touché," Jake nodded.

Calleigh chuckled, lightly, but her face fell very quickly. Jake knew her mind had turned back to Jesse more than likely, he had the feeling the two of them would be thinking about him more tonight than anyone else on the team.

"I'm sorry about Jesse," Jake said, sitting by her bed.

Calleigh smiled a sad smile.

"He's with Tracy now," she breathed, talking more to herself than Jake.

"Um…Tracy?" Jake asked, confused.

"His wife," she clarified. "It's kind of a long story."

"You're in no shape to be telling those," Jake smiled, hating seeing her in this pain, physical and emotional.

The corners of her mouth twitched, but not forming the smile Jake had been wanting to see.

"I wanted to thank you," she whispered.

This was the last thing he wanted to hear.

"Don't..."

"I also wanted to apologize," she admitted. "I've been…horrid."

"No-."

"I have. I haven't handled this very maturely."

"Been better than me."

"Yeah, but…if this was the other way around I wouldn't handle it very well either. I owe you an explanation," Calleigh admitted.

"You owe me nothing," Jake thought aloud.

"I owe you my life, I'm alive because of you," Calleigh reminded him, as if he needed remembering.

"No, your alive because you're too stubborn to die," Jake corrected her, only have joking. He may have assisted her survival in the meat locker and the doctors may have helped heal her, but if Calleigh hadn't had the will to keep on fighting, Jake was certain, she never would have made it out of the scene alive. The thought was grotesque, but it was true and anyone who knew Calleigh knew it.

"Either way, I think you were right about us needing to sit down and talk this, whatever _this _is, out."

"Why the sudden change of heart? And _don't _say because you think you owe me something," Jake warned her.

"Fine," Calleigh shrugged. "I was worried about you today, I was scared that you were going to die. I still care for you, Jake," Calleigh admitted, Jake swore he felt his heart go into systole when she said those words. "Not in the way you want me to, not in the way I care about Eric, but we have been through a lot and today just reminded me that we can still have a friendship or something. We made it work before."

She was finally giving him what he wanted, a chance to redeem himself. How many nights had he hoped for her to give him that? Just a few minutes to talk and try to find an understanding? Now it had been offered to him on a silver platter and it was an opportunity he wasn't willing to pass up. He hated thinking it took a dead CSI and the two of them in the hospital to get them to this stage, but at least they were there.

"We'll talk about this when you're feeling better, okay?" Jake suggested, unthinkingly reaching up to take her hand; she didn't slide hers out of his grasp.

"Okay," Calleigh nodded in agreement.

"Take care of yourself," Jake said, squeezing her hand as he stood up from his chair.

"You too," Calleigh grinned as there hands separated.

Jake bent down and gently cupped his hand around her face, his palm warm against her skin, his lips touching her hair before walking away.

Then, without so much as a goodbye, Jake opened the door and left.


	13. Going Postal

Thanks for the reviews!

This chapter is mostly E/C. Sorry it is so short.

* * *

Chapter 13

Going Postal

There was very little that Calleigh detested in life, most of the negative aspects being tolerable, but if there were two things that Calleigh couldn't stand it was missing work and doing nothing; unfortunately those were the very two things she was forced to do. The doctor had said that due to the severity of her injuries and the removal of her gallbladder that she would have to be on bed rest for at least a week, not to mention not being in complete action for another few weeks; she'd be stuck on desk duty for at least a month. At this point, however, she'd take a year of desk duty instead of her week of bed rest. Each day seemed like a never ending cycle of slothfulness and the only highlight of the entire experience of bed rest was that Eric was with her and, when he wasn't worrying about her, she was able to enjoy his company. At first she had protested him staying home with her, insisting she'd be fine for the hours in which he was at work. But Eric pointedly reminded her that, seeing as she wasn't allowed to get up to retrieve anything that wasn't in arm's length, she would probably need assistance, no matter how much she denied it. With this reminder, Calleigh conceded to agreeing for Eric to take time off work to stay with her for the week.

But come the second day at home, Calleigh already hated the four walls of their bedroom, even the view outside the condo was getting old. She missed being able to drive through the city and walking through the halls of the lab, especially Firearms. She had heard on the news that morning how an Norinco Sporter SKS rifle had been used in an armed robbery that morning, leaving three dead, and she longed to be the CSI test-firing that SKS; instead she was lying in bed only dreaming about it, literally.

Calleigh had been having a vivid dream about being at work before she awoke from yet another nap. She blinked open her heavy eyes to the sight of a bouquet of pink tulips sitting in a vase beside the lamp. She reached up to take the card out from among the petals, smiling at the beautiful arrangement; it read: _Feel better, hope to see you back in action soon. Love, H, Natalia, Ryan, Frank and Jake. _

Calleigh grinned at her friends' thoughtfulness, but Jake's name seemed to stick out as the words of the promise she had made him came back. She had told him she still cared for him, she had told him that she was willing to try and work things out, but she had an uneasy feeling it was going to be as easy as sitting down and talking out everything; nothing ever comes that easily. She placed the card beside the vase, attempting to block Jake out of her mind as Eric entered their bedroom with a glass of water in hand.

"Hey," Calleigh smiled at him, tiredly.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" Eric asked, handing her the glass.

"Fine," Calleigh shrugged, gratefully taking the glass and sipping the cool water. Calleigh leaned back into pillows and realized, as the water ran smoothly down her throat, that this was probably the most flavor she was going to have for awhile. Her doctor had warned them to be careful as far as her diet was concerned, he recommended that she stay away from foods such as red meat, pork, butter and even coffee and tea until her body had time to adjust to living without her gallbladder. Until then Calleigh would be eating foods such as avocados, beets, grapes, and most other fruits and vegetables; at least Eric had volunteered to suffer with her.

"When did Horatio stop by?" she asked, nodded towards the bouquet.

"About an hour ago. He didn't want to wake you, so he asked me to tell you to get well soon."

Calleigh grinned at Horatio's concern, but the grin slowly faded into a frown as she looked around at the room.

"You're sick of being here already, aren't you?" Eric chuckled, lying on the bed next to her, leaning against the headboard.

"I wouldn't be so much if I were allowed to move a little," Calleigh admitted, taking another drink. "Being forced to be a vegetarian isn't so great either...for God's sake, who ever heard of a vegetarian from Louisiana?"

"It's only temporary," Eric reminded her, supportively resting his hand on her thigh. "You'll be back to work, shooting and eating meat in no time."

Calleigh smiled up at him and nodded, resting her head against his shoulder.

"I know," she sighed. "It could be worse." _I could have died,_ she added in her mind, knowing Eric wouldn't have appreciated it had she spoke the words aloud. His over protectiveness levels appeared to reach a whole new high ever since the incident, to the extent that if she rolled over in bed at night, Eric would awake and ask if she was okay. Had the reason behind his protectiveness not been so severe, Calleigh probably would have said something at this point, but she knew his intentions were from love; she had always thought that his intense protectiveness had always been a way of showing affection.

Eric went to put his arm around her waist and then retracted, thinking better of it, almost as though she were delicate and the slightest touch would case her to shatter. But Calleigh noticed his hesitation and rolled her eyes, moving her head to look at him.

"Eric, you can touch me, I promise I won't break," Calleigh assured him.

He narrowed his eyes at her and got off of the mattress and moved to her side of the bed, smiling down at her with Cheshire Cat grin; it gave Calleigh a slightly uneasy feeling.

"What are you up to-Eric!" she exclaimed as she found herself no longer on the bed, but rather in Eric's arms. The movement had been swift and she didn't have time to protest, he had put his arms under her legs and around her middle, still as gently as he could, when he picked her up to cradle her against his tank topped chest.

"Have you lost your mind?" Calleigh asked as he carried her from the bedroom and down the hall, which Calleigh had to admit she was pleased about, even if he were carrying her as though she were a child.

"No, but I think if you stay in bed much longer, you'll lose yours," Eric shrugged as he entered their living room, by this point Calleigh submitted to wrapping her arms around Eric's neck. With great care, he placed her on the couch, lightly kissing her brow as she leaned against the arm of the sofa. He got on his knees beside her head, moving his lips to brush against the bridge of her nose before moving to settle them against hers. At that point Calleigh couldn't resist and willingly kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Better?" Eric asked when his lips separated from hers.

"Much," Calleigh smiled; he chuckled at how much happier she sounded just by the change of scenery. Eric moved to sit at the end of the couch, picking up Calleigh's feet to rest in his lap and gently resting his hand on her knee.

She grinned up at him, she adjusting her head against the arm of the sofa, something on the coffee eye catching her eye. Knowing he was probably not going to be getting up for sometime, Calleigh figured this was the best time to bring something up that she had been thinking about for a couple of days. She reached over to grab the Real-Estate section of the newspaper and flip to the page that contained the house that had been circled by her the morning she had been shot with a Sharpie.

"Did you happen to see this?" Calleigh asked.

"Not yet," Eric smiled, knowing that the wheels in her head were turning. "What did you find?"

"Three bedroom, two bath house just outside Coral Gables. It was renovated two years ago and what they are asking for is within our price range."

The two hadn't planned on wanting to buy a proper house so soon, wanting to save up the money for one until they felt the time was right for them to purchase their first house. But they had money from when Calleigh sold her house and the Eric's condo wasn't exactly suited for two people. As fate would have it, Calleigh had been simply flipping through the pages over her morning coffee to have this one house stand out. Not only was the neighborhood sound and the house in their budget, but it was of decent size for when they _did_ start building their family.

"What do you think?" she asked, handing him the paper. Eric took one look at the picture in the ad, keeping in mind the information listed with it, and could instantly see why Calleigh liked it. The house may have looked like just a plain bricked house with a yard to anyone else who may have taken a glance at it, but Eric saw something different in the architecture. He saw a home that seemed to be molded from a ton of brick specifically designed for himself and Calleigh and the future they hoped to have together. A thousand images came to his mind and he was powerless to stop them, he could see the two of them moving into the house, carrying in boxes of belongings into their new home. He could see children playing in the yard and riding bikes in the driveway. Had he seen the rest of the house, Eric was certain he would have had many more images appear, but if the inside looked half as grand as the outside did, he would very easily get use to the idea of this house being their future home.

"I think we should go and check it out," Eric smiled down at Calleigh, her green eyes began to glow at those words; he hadn't seen her so excited about anything in months. "I didn't know you were wanting to look for a house."

"Neither did I," Calleigh admitted with a shrug. "But things have been so crazy lately at work and everything, maybe focusing on our life together could make it easier. And f it doesn't, at least we'll have a nice place to go home to."

Eric nodded in agreement and slid his hand from her kneecap to her thigh, taking one last look at the house in the newspaper in his other hand.

"Sounds good to me," he chuckled.

* * *

Again, sorry this is so short, but I hope you guys enjoyed the break from all the drama with some E/C romance.

Please review.


	14. Leopards Don't Change Their Spots

Thanks for the reviews!

* * *

Chapter 14

Leopards Don't Change Their Spots

A fortnight later and Calleigh planned on fulfilling her promise to Jake. Upon her return to work, she had kindly pulled Jake aside to ask when would be a good time for them to talk. They set a date and Jake had been anxious for that night to arrive ever since. He didn't take for granted that this was probably his final opportunity to make Calleigh remember the love they had once shared, show her he could care for her as much as Delko and that she didn't always have to be strong when she was with him.

He sat in the bar located in the hotel room; he tapped his fingers on the table and was constantly checking his watch. Jake had got down to the bar early incase Calleigh had arrived early, not to mention alcohol was available to calm his nerves.

Halfway through his second Scotch, Jake looked up to see Calleigh walking in. She was dressed casually, jeans and a T-shirt. The closer she got, Jake saw that she had minimal make-up on and that she didn't have any jewelry, with the exception of her wedding ring. Clearly, she had made it a point not to get too dressed up to reinstate the fact that this wasn't a date.

Jake smiled at her as she sat across from him. She smiled back; Jake was surprised to see the smile was genuine.

"Hi," she said.

"Hey. How're you doing?" Jake asked, referring to the injuries she had sustained.

"I'm getting better," Calleigh nodded, her eyes traveled to his forehead, the bump had reduced in swelling since the last time she saw him. "How's the head?"

"Screwed up," Jake shrugged a shoulder. "As usual."

Calleigh laughed a bit at that before the waitress walked over to her.

"What can I get you, ma'am?" she asked, sweetly.

"Water, please," Calleigh said.

"Okay, I'll be right back," she nodded before walking off.

Calleigh turned back to Jake, him giving her a questionable look.

"What?" Calleigh asked.

"There a reason you don't want a beer or something?"

"Yeah, I'm driving tonight," Calleigh said as though it were obvious.

"Delko doesn't know you're here?" Jake assumed.

"Actually, he does," Calleigh corrected him. "But I am capable of driving myself."

"Sorry," Jake apologized, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Here you go," the waitress said as she came back over, laying down a napkin and setting a glass of water of top of it in front of Calleigh.

"Thanks," Calleigh smiled at her.

Silence fell between the two as Calleigh took a sip of her water and waited for Jake to start his questions, knowing that's why she was truly here.

"So…" Jake tried to think of a good icebreaker. "How do you think the lab is without Cardoza?"

"Different, we had only just got used to him being there…but we aren't here to talk about Jesse," Calleigh sighed.

"No," Jake shook his head, leaning back into his chair.

"What do you want to know, Jake? I've basically told you everything," Calleigh said.

"But not in a lot of detail," Jake pointed out.

"Why do you need more detail?" Calleigh asked.

"Because, Calleigh, I want to know the whole truth," Jake snapped. "Everyone has been cutting corners when it comes to telling me the truth about you two…especially you."

"That could have something to do with the fact that no one wants to tell you anything that doesn't concern you," Calleigh retorted.

"You are a concern to me, Cal."

"I shouldn't be," Calleigh disagreed.

"Why not? Just because you're married doesn't mean I can't care about you and still love-."

Jake had stopped himself and looked down, clearly having said too much and going way deeper than he had intended.

Calleigh rolled her lips, now completely uncomfortable with the way this conversation had turned and was continuing to go.

"You know, Jake, maybe we should do this some other time when we've had more time to think about everything," Calleigh suggested, scooting her chair back and going to stand up.

Jake's head snapped up. He was losing his chance with Calleigh, probably the last chance he'd ever have to talk to her alone and on such a personal level. This was his chance to tell Calleigh how he felt and he was losing it, like sand slipping through his fingers.

"Calleigh, no," Jake said, gently. He stood up, tenderly taking her hand, making her turn back around to look at him.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'll try not to do that again…please, let's just finish what we came here to do."

Calleigh looked at him and nodded, gently pulling her hand out of Jake's before sitting down.

"What else do you want to know?" she asked.

"I'm just curious as to why you didn't even take a moment to at least _consider _waiting for me, we could have had a really good life together."

Calleigh rolled her lips, giving him an apologetic shake of the head. "No, Jake, we couldn't have."

"Yeah, why not?" he demanded, his tone hard as to conceal the cracking in his voice.

"Because you would have picked up and left without warning constantly," she sighed. "And when you leave I would never hear from you when you are away and it would be terrifying for me. If I had waited, it would have been like that everyday for the rest of my life."

"I would have left ATF, I would have found a way to get out," he insisted.

"No, you wouldn't," she retorted. "You couldn't leave ATF anymore than I could leave CSI. You love it; you love being in the thrill, the danger, and at the end of the day that is your true love."

"No, Calleigh," Jake leaned across the table to look her in the eye, desperate to get through to her. "For you, I'd give all of it up."

"Maybe you would," she shrugged. "But you would eventually become miserable and you'd be a different person. Then you'd start detesting me because you'd look at me as the reason for you quitting the job you love. Then, after all of that, we'd end up leaving each other and no one would be better off."

"That's one way to look at it, I guess," he murmured, putting the glass to his lips to take a drink of Scotch.

"What's the other way? We'd end up happily ever after?" Calleigh scoffed, she knew that was more of a fantasy of Jake's other than a true option in reality.

"Or you could have tried to get used to the ATF thing."

Calleigh shook her head as she gritted her teeth. "Don't you get it? I can't get used to that kind of thing. Maybe for you it would be easy because I'm in one place and you wouldn't have to think about me at all, but for me it would be like going through hell, every single day."

"You don't think I thought about you?" Jake asked, appalled. "I thought about you everyday when I was gone, I missed you like crazy. And I would read articles online, things about you being in a building that got struck by a crane and that you'd been in the hospital and that there was an attack at CSI a few months back causing everyone to collapse in mid-step. Calleigh, I was two seconds away to getting on a plane and coming out here. I was scared that you were…" Jake took a deep breath. "Dead."

Calleigh processed this, when it got down to describing his feelings, Calleigh knew Jake meant business. She thought over the last month, thinking about Jake's comments and hardness, but how he was now telling her his feelings; the feelings he had so deep they dug inside his bones. This was, Calleigh was surprised to realize, normal as far as Jake went. When they were at his or her house at night and something was bugging him, he would get really closed off and even a bit angry, though he made it a point never to direct his anger toward Calleigh. Eventually, though, he would open up and tell her what was wrong with him. She was soon able to monitor how much things were bothering him by the amount of bitter things that Jake came out with. Based on the knowledge she had gathered and the things he had been saying recently, this was the deepest pain she had known him to have.

"Well," she sighed. "I'm alive…and I'm _married_, Jake. I'm happily married."

Jake nodded.

"If I had never gone away," Jake sighed. "Do you think things would have played out differently?"

Calleigh took a sip of water, letting it wet her now dry lips. She took a deep breath through her nose and looked at him in the eye, seeing the warmth she hadn't seen in years, the Jake she knew but no one else saw. To everyone else Jake was coldhearted, cocky and possibly annoying. Calleigh had thought the same thing when she first met him in college and she had been thinking the same thoughts until recently. She saw passed those qualities of his outward persona to his better side where the potential of a human being lay, despite the fact he was rough around the edges; that's why it was going to hurt to say this.

"No," she shook her head. "Jake we have…we have had too many issues and Eric had some qualities-."

"Like what?" Jake interrupted.

"Let's not go there," Calleigh sighed.

"Why not? Why is it Delko is so much better for you than me?" Jake asked, heatedly.

Calleigh put her hand back around her glass, feeling the cold condensation around the cylinder, trying to think of a way to word an answer without being colder than the water sticking to her fingertips.

"You are a really good person-."

Jake scoffed.

"Save me the sugar coating, Cal," Jake said with a roll of his eyes

"I'm being serious," Calleigh promised. "I stayed with you for as long as I did for a reason…you're friendly, you're smart, you are a decent guy and I loved you, you know that. But…"

"But you only loved me for months…you love him enough to spend years with him," Jake clarified, it wasn't a question. "I'm just honestly curious, what has you so into him?"

Calleigh was, once again, hesitate.

"Calleigh, come on," Jake sighed, a bit frustrated. "I fly to Miami, thinking that we maybe able to start over, to find you at your wedding. It doesn't get much worse than that…Is it because he's CSI and I'm ATF?"

"That's a small part of it," Calleigh nodded.

"What's the big part?" Jake coaxed.

Calleigh took a deep breath. "Everyone looks at me as the gunslinger from Louisiana who has no fear and tough as nails, and everyone expects me to be that at all times, _you _expected me to be that way all the time. Now, I have no problem being looked at that way, but sometimes it is nice to go home and have someone to say that I don't have to be strong all the time. The best part is that I feel comfortable around him when I do need to cry, he is the only person I've never been ashamed to…to not be strong in front of."

"You didn't always have to be strong for me, Cal," he said, realizing he had never offered that to her.

"Yes, I did," Calleigh corrected. "We met in college, when I had to prove myself to fit in and I don't think you ever forgot that image of me."

Jake understood instantly what she meant; she was a girl, a _blonde _girl for that matter. Calleigh had to work harder than anybody to prove that she had what it takes, never faltering for a second and Jake had always had that idea of her carved into his brain. He probably should have seen through the walls she had built, knowing that she was human.

Delko had given her what Jake had never, but should have known, to give her.

"Why did you stick with me for so long then if you thought you couldn't let your guard down in front of me?" Jake asked.

"Because I didn't really know it was an issue until Eric and I got closer. Then one thing led to the next and…suddenly I felt at home. And it's a two way street. He knows he can talk to me and I'll be there for him…somehow everything just works out."

"But the word is he left CSI and you two…took a break. That right?" Jake asked.

Calleigh licked her lips, obviously it wasn't her favorite topic to discuss.

"Yeah, but…it wasn't going so well for either of us not being together," Calleigh sighed.

Jake took all this in and nodded.

"So, basically your telling me he's perfect," Jake shrugged.

"Nobody's perfect," Calleigh shook her head.

"He's perfect for you," Jake restated.

"Seems that way," Calleigh nodded.

Jake nodded. He thought seeing their wedding was bad, but this was unimaginable heartache like nothing he had ever felt before. Calleigh had given him her reasons and they were logical, despite how much they hurt him. He could see why she would choose Delko over him.

"I guess there is no chance of you changing your mind?" he asked, though all hope in his voice had vanished.

"I'm sorry," she breathed, her apology was sincere; she thought about reaching up to give his hand a comforting touch, but figured it would be an inappropriate action and kept her hand to herself.

"Don't be, it's not your fault," he said, sadly. "And it's not Delko's either. I should actually thank him."

"Why?" Calleigh asked, curiously.

"Because he makes you happy," Jake sighed, his eyes overflowing with righteous pain. "I will leave you two alone from now on…. But I want to know one more thing."

"What's that?" she whispered.

"Did you ever really love me?" Jake questioned, needing to know if he was ever lucky enough to truly be loved by her or if it was all just a sweet dream of his.

Calleigh rolled her lips and nodded. "Jake, you were the first person I ever really loved."

A sense of painful relief washed through Jake, the relief was that Calleigh had loved him; the pain was that he was lucky enough to have her for a short period of time, but he lost her and he only had himself to blame.

Jake nodded in understanding, his eyes staring blankly at the wood stained table.

"So, I'll see you at work?" he asked, keeping his voice at a monotone range to conceal the heartache he would have revealed otherwise.

"Yeah," Calleigh whispered and Jake looked up to meet her eyes a final time, taking a photograph in his mind of when the woman he loved would look at him with those beautiful green eyes, wanting to cherish them forever.

They shared a minuscule grin and then Calleigh got up from her chair and walked away. She held her breath and kept her eyes on the door, determined not to look back at Jake. Only when Calleigh was out of the hotel and in the night air did she feel as though she were free from Jake's hold.

Calleigh got into her car and took a cleansing breath, she didn't know she would feel so bad explaining that to him, explaining to him Eric's strength as opposed to Jake's weaknesses. She suspected she would feel a little upset about doing it, but thought he would have earned it after what he had been saying to Eric and Calleigh recently. Instead, Calleigh felt awful for even _thinking _he deserved that, no one deserved to be put down like that.

She ran her hands through her hair, realizing that it was getting late and all she wanted was to get home to Eric. As she drove, Jake remained at the table she'd left him, his eyes had followed Calleigh out of the bar until she was out of sight. His heart shattered into pieces so small that he knew it would never be put back together again, at least not correctly. He had tried to accept for months that Calleigh and him could never be, but he kept hoodwinking himself into believing if he pointed out the flaws between her and Eric, as well as remind her of what she and himself once had, she would soon return.

Deep inside him, Jake always knew this was how it was going to end, that Calleigh would never come back to his arms. But the skill was most distinguished in above all the others was survival, he knew what he needed to survive and how to get it, Calleigh was something he needed more than food, water or oxygen.

He would have to adapt to living without her; he had done it before ad he could do it again, once he retrained himself. But he had to first survive tonight and Jake knew it would be the worst of his life.

He picked up the glass in front of him and tossed back the remainder of the amber liquid, letting it scorch his throat as it traveled down. He planned on spending as much time as he could in the bar; knocking back as much alcohol as possible and reviewing every single reason why Calleigh Duquesne Delko would never become Calleigh Duquesne Berkeley.

Delko had been the one who didn't have blinders on, the one who saw than one side of Calleigh, as opposed to Jake who was foolish enough to think she would never need a hand to hold on to. It was Delko who saw everything to her and he loved all of it—and she loved him back. Jake knew he could never compete with the likes of him, it had been idiotic to think he could.

With that, Jake pulled out his cell phone to type a text message he never thought he would decide to send. Each letter he clicked on the pad felt as though he was giving up what remained of his soul and sending it to the enemy.

The message read: _"The better man may have won, but if you ever hurt her I will kill you."_

Jake sent the text to Delko, it may as well of been waving a white flag at battle.

He put the phone back in his pocket and pulled out the diamond ring he had brought with him incase things went in his favor. He looked at the ring, the diamond and it's beauty, but it didn't make him feel hopeful like it used to. It was now a token of his lost fight, of the woman he'd never marry or hold in his arms again. He supposed this would only be useful for paying the bar tab.

And with that, he ordered another Scotch.

* * *

Calleigh walked through the door and placed her purse on the nearby table, not surprised to find it still unlocked and Eric still awake. He was at the computer; answering an e-mail or working on something for a case, Calleigh figured. He turned around when he heard the door open, giving Calleigh a warm smile as she walked towards him.

"Hey," he greeted her as he stood up.

"Hey, yourself," she replied.

Calleigh appeared to have been genuinely happy, her eyes were as bright as her smile and her voice was cheerful. But to Eric, however, he saw that was nothing more than a mask created by an artist and that the night hadn't been an easy one.

"How'd it go?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Could have gone worse," Calleigh said, wrapping her arms around his neck. "But I think he was right."

"About?"

"We needed to talk and I think he finally understands why I chose you," she smiled, tracing his upper lip with her fingertips.

"And you honestly think he's going to accept things as they are?"

"I'd like to think so," Calleigh sighed, turning her hand to rest against his cheek. "But only time will tell."

Eric nodded. "So what happens now?"

"Well, I guess we go to work, try to move on with life," she shrugged before giving him a playful look. "And I was kind of hoping you were going to kiss me."

Eric chuckled and leaned down to grant her wish. His lips felt warm and strong against hers, it felt as though she was kissing him for the first time again. There wasn't tension in her life, all wrinkles had been ironed out and she could blissfully kiss him.

"I'm sorry you had to do that tonight," Eric whispered when their lips parted, referring to the night with Jake, knowing it had to have been hard.

"I'm not," Calleigh shook her head.

"No regrets?"

"None…never."

* * *

The epilogue of the story follows.

Please review!


	15. Epilogue: Today

Much thanks to everybody who has supported this fic, it's sad to see it end, but everything must. I hope everyone enjoys this final installment.

* * *

Epilogue

Today

_Two and a half months later…_

Jake had done everything imaginable in attempts to move on. He had finally ridded himself of the ring, he deleted the pictures of Calleigh from his computer and he even attempted to be with other women. Unfortunately, his heart never took to any of them the way it instantly had to Calleigh and he never succeeded in much more than a few one night stands.

Despite all of his attempts, or how drunk he got, he could never get over Calleigh. Whenever he saw her walking in the Crime Lab, his heart still went into tachycardia and when he saw her and Delko together, he felt the same unbearable burning he received when he witnessed their wedding. He had tried to be her friend and accept her choice for what it was, thinking the pain and the burning would get easier in time, but the pain seemed to crescendo as time went on.

It was nothing less than sheer torture to see something you can't have and doesn't want you constantly dangling in front of your face; the purest, and potentially the cruelest, form of mockery. And with each day that passed, Jake was certain he was getting closer to losing his mind completely; this way of living simply wasn't healthy for his emotional, psychological and even his physical well-being. His reflection showed a sallow, pasty face, dead eyes and a body that had lost weight.

Something needed to change.

* * *

Calleigh found herself smiling as she walked into DNA that Monday morning.

"Got anything from the knife?" she asked Natalia.

"Yeah, not all of it was our vic's," Natalia replied. "There was a foreign sample, probably from our stabber."

"Any hits in CODIS?"

"Still waiting," she sighed, gesturing to the computer. "You look like you're in a good mood," Natalia commented, seeing Calleigh's cheerful expression.

"I am," Calleigh nodded.

"Oh, yeah, you and Eric move into your new house today."

"Yeah, it's kind of exciting," Calleigh grinned as the computer bleeped to signal it had found a match. "What did we get?"

"Daniel Harper," Natalia's eyes narrowed in confusion at the screen, "but he's currently incarcerated."

"On what charge?" she asked.

"For raping a college student last year. So how in the hell did his blood get on our murder weapon?"

"I don't know," Calleigh shook her head. "Is Frank out of court?"

"I don' think so," Natalia said.

"Well, then I guess Jake and I are heading to Miami-Dade Corrections," Calleigh sighed, turning on her heel.

"Jake?" Natalia questioned, slightly taken aback.

"Yeah," Calleigh nodded, confused. "You know, ATF worker who's been here a few months now."

"You mean he _had _been here. Haven't you heard?"

"Natalia, what are you talking about?" Calleigh asked.

"Cal, Jake's gone, he resigned last night," she said, slightly surprised Calleigh had yet to hear the news.

Calleigh furrowed her eyebrows, shocked as well as confused. "Did ATF take him for an assignment?" she asked.

Natalia shook her head. "Word on the street is he just up and left. ATF won't like that too much; they like to keep an eye on their employees, don't they?"

"Yeah," she whispered, almost talking to herself. "They do. I guess I'll just find Wolfe." She walked out of the lab, a complicated duo feeling of shock and relief spreading throughout her body.

* * *

All boxes and furniture had been moved into the house and the sun was beginning to set, but the humidity remained. The moving van drove away as Eric grabbed the final cardboard box from his car and stepped up into the house, the cooler air refreshing to his skin as he made his way towards their new kitchen. Calleigh was already there, the light jacket she had on earlier now tied around her waist and she was unpacking the plates from one of the boxes in front of her. Eric watched for a moment as she removed the plates from their bubble-wrapped fortress and into the cupboard above her. He set down the box in his hands and walked up behind her, gently sliding his arms into place around her tank-topped waist.

"What do you think?" Eric asked as she put down the plate she was unwrapping to twine her fingers through his.

"I absolutely love it," she smiled as she looked around their new home.

Eric chuckled at her enthusiasm and kissed her hair. "Me too."

Calleigh let herself lean into her husband, feeling as though her legs were about to give up on her. The duo was physically exhausted and the idea of unpacking tonight wasn't a pleasant one, all they wanted to do was lean back and let the stress of the day vanish.

"What do you say we order some pizza and relax?" he suggested.

"I knew I married someone smart," Calleigh smiled at him before heading towards the living room. She heard him chuckle lightly after her as she pulled the plastic cover off the couch, where they would be sleeping that night, seeing as everything they needed to assemble their bed was lost within the jungle of boxes; they weren't even completely sure where the mattress was in the mess.

Calleigh took a seat in the center of the sofa and sighed in relief they were finally going to be able to relax.

* * *

Perhaps eating pizza on a couch amongst a dozen boxes and other pieces of furniture, yet to be uncovered by their plastic forces, wasn't exactly the most romantic moment in their time together, but it would definitely be one of the most memorable. Calleigh never imagined she would be _this _thrilled to be in a new house, with her husband and the promise of many happy memories on the horizon; the moment was almost surreal. Everything appeared perfect and everything felt at peace, except Calleigh still had one thought that had been lingering in the back corner of her mind the majority of the day. A thought that Eric was about to bring up.

"I heard that Jake left," Eric said, approaching the subject carefully after he finished a bite of pizza.

"Yeah," Calleigh nodded. "He transferred to a PD up in Orlando, apparently."

"That's a big move," he sighed, looking at his wife with concern. "Are you okay?"

Calleigh took a small bite of pizza, chewed and swallowed before answering. "I'm fine," she assured him, honestly. "A bit surprised, but that's it."

Calleigh had supposed that Jake leaving shouldn't have been that much of a surprise, considering the roller coaster of emotions and drama he had to have been experiencing the last few months, but he left so abruptly and without any warning. Maybe he would have mentioned it had they been on proper speaking terms, however their final conversation—that wasn't work related anyway—was at the restaurant to settle their relationship. They had exchanged a few kind words regarding traffic, the weather and perhaps a "how are you doing?" but they never manifested into the conversations they used to have.

She may have been taken aback from Jake's sudden departure, definitely aggravated that she hadn't seen it coming, but Calleigh couldn't say she was disappointed he left. Then again, she couldn't say she was thrilled by the fact either, she couldn't exactly name what she felt...for she felt nothing. Jake was gone, end of story. When they were in a relationship, Calleigh had become too accustomed to Jake's comings and goings with ATF that it had become easier for her to feel nothing and now the tactic of feeling nothing had morphed into an immediate reaction that didn't need to be questioned, instead of its original use of a survival tactic.

She took the remaining bite of her pizza, knowing Jake was somewhere in Orlando and starting over as herself and Eric were, in a sense, too having a new beginning. Calleigh supposed she should have felt some emotion other than shock when Jake left, but as hard as she tried she felt nothing.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Eric asked, looking carefully at her face for any trace of negative emotion.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she promised, her cheerful voice compensating how she said she felt. "I'm still hungry, I'm going to grab another piece," Calleigh said, grabbing her paper plate and walking into the kitchen where the remaining pieces of pizza remained in their box.

Eric watched his wife as she walked from the couch, moving around the boxes that littered floor until she reached the kitchen, a faint smile hinted on his lips at how calm and completely unbothered by Jake's departure. Eric hadn't been certain how she would react to him leaving, he thought she would have been slightly disheartened, for she thought herself and Jake could make progress as friends, or maybe she would have been happy or relieved because if Jake wasn't around, there would be the absolute guarantee of less drama. Instead, she had taken the news very calmly and professionally in a way only Calleigh could.

Eric watched as she placed a piece of pizza on her paper plate, his heart reeling with excitement at the fact this was his dream come true. He had Calleigh, they had their dream home, they were both safe, healthy and he felt completely confident nothing was going to waltz in and take all of it, take _her, _away.

Calleigh caught him smiling at her as she turned around, but didn't comment; instead she merely dodged the boxes to take her seat back beside her husband.

"Moving sure does build up an appetite," Calleigh grinned, settling back into the couch; Eric laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, lowering his head to level his lips with her ear.

"Welcome home," Eric whispered. Calleigh turned to give him a smile, her eyes sparkling at the word home, before leaning in to press her lips to his and, for the first since they returned from their honeymoon, there wasn't a heaviness and the world felt at peace.

Meanwhile, miles from Miami, Jake was experiencing a case of déjà vu as he entered a hotel room in Orlando, only this time Jake found he had absolutely no hope or ounce of happiness left in his soul. He was a ghost, mindlessly walking through life with a scar across his heart and functioning on autopilot to complete minor tasks.

Without removing an article of clothing—not even his shoes—Jake fell across the bed, still thinking about Calleigh; he couldn't seem to stop doing that lately. He knew he couldn't have her, he knew she didn't want him, but his mind was haunted by her beauty, her kindness and every other quality he had fallen head-over-heels in love with and that was just salt on his wound. Jake could picture Calleigh's laugh, Calleigh's smile, how she felt in his arms and wish with all his heart she would one day come back to him, but he knew at the end of the day that was nothing more than a silent prayer. Calleigh was in Miami, where she belonged, married to the man she loved more than anything. The same man who loved her back and made her happy every day, who she would be gladly spending the rest of forever with. While Jake could only try to muddle through each day, trying to remind himself that Calleigh was safe and content with her life, but ultimately never finding comfort in her happiness, for he would always be the one with the loss and the regret of letting the woman he loved slip out of his grasp.

Jake allowed his eyelids to slip down to close as he fell asleep, the promise of yet another dismal tomorrow sealed in the atmosphere.


End file.
